Mita liked the duality of ‘Agnipankh’

The actor enjoyed the challenge of acting in a stage play meant for TV.

Hyderabad: Mita Vashisht, by her own admission, doesn’t fit in any particular box. An actor who was always ahead of her times, her unusual film choices reflect her maverick streak. A self-appointed avante garde artiste, Mita, since the ’80s, has chosen to work with directors who share her ideology and who, along the way, introduced her to people who shaped her as an actor.

“I remember I was a few films old when a director told me that I should be in Hollywood. I have always been ahead of times in terms of my look. I knew I would be too old to play the kind of roles that came to me later. Working across industries is not out of the question now. At the time, Om Puri saab had already crossed over and showed everyone that there are meaty roles for Indian actors there. His roles weren’t caricatures and were lead roles in great films,” recalls Mita Vashisht.

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Her fascination with strong female characters is what attracted her to the teleplay ‘Agnipankh’. A Hindi play set in the politically turbulent India of 1948, it follows Durgeshwari or Baisaab, a matriarch who runs her zamindari on a tight leash and navigates a complex relationship with an alcoholic husband and children.

“While originally a Marathi play, I found it to be a wonderfully written script. All the characters are very well-fleshed out. It’s an all-encompassing characterisation at a point of Independence with major upheavals. Baisa has an influence on everybody owing to her position. I would be crazy to say no to such a script,” says Mita who liked the character’s “duality of being strong while exploring her vulnerability”.

As Baisa, she not only has to balance her responsibilities of managing factories and land, but also her personal roles as a wife and a mother. Before taking on the role, Mita also had to consider the caste structure and belief system of that period. “I had to remind myself that it’s a play being shot for TV and make it appear like a stage performance. I hope people get attracted to it and feel like watching the play live on stage. Even if it’s in a different language, they can get a gist of it,” shares Mita.

She also likes that OTT has opened up new avenues for actors like her. “It allowed a lot of actors to return to the screen. OTT started off with people who were actors. Later on, bigger stars decided to come in realising the enormous reach and impact. Newcomers became stars because of OTT. The best talent often doesn’t come from a film background,” states the 55-year-old who is known for parallel cinematic works such as Siddheshwari, Drishti, Kasba, Drohkaal, and commercial films like Ghulam, Phir Milenge, Kaagaz, Chhorii and more recently ‘Good Luck Jerry’.

A frequent collaborator with Kumar Shahani, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Mahesh Bhatt, and Mani Ratnam, Mita rues that the days of quality, intellect and soulful talks that influenced her as a young actor have ended.

“It is a better time to get visibility. But in terms of learning, I would say earlier times were much better. It was far simpler. I remember I met Vijay Tendulkar for lunch while accompanying Govind Nihalani once. With Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani, the people we would interact with were Akbar Padamsee, artist Jiram Patel, author Nirmal Verma, Oscar-winning costume designer Bhanu Athaiya and Vivan Sundaram. As a young actor, I was surrounded by such great people. The greatest writers and artists were friends of the directors in whose films I acted in. Today, it’s about ‘does it work for me professionally? Will I get something out of it in my career?’ It’s more materialistic now,” observes Mita.

The 55-year-old is now working on a memoir that chronicles her decades-long work across films and stage. But the former FTII graduate says time is hard to come by. “I need to remind myself to write those 600 words. I have shown a couple of drafts to directors I have worked with and they have given me some wonderful feedback. It’s a work in progress,” says Mita.

‘Agnipankh’ airs on Zee theatre.