Despite scoring a hit with Nagesh Kukunoor’s City of Dreams (2019), Marathi actor father priya He had to wait before the Hindi film industry recognized his potential. This year, however, is enjoying a string of releases – from Riteish Deshmukh-starrer Visfot and friendship drama Raat Jawaan Hai to mental health anthology Zindaginama on SonyLIV. Happy about the change of tide, Bapat says, “This is the first time since I started working in Hindi that I have three massive releases.” The actress shares that she has often turned down various projects while waiting for the right scripts.
“Even in Marathi cinema I choose my work consciously. I’ve had to wait a long time to find the right type of projects and avoid being pigeonholed. After City of Dreams, I was offered a lot of lesbian roles. But when creators believe in you, things happen. That’s why I’m grateful to all the creators who have shown belief in me,” she says, adding that she was very happy when the director Aditya Sarpotdar I saw a Bihari woman in her for Zindaginama. “Someone was willing to believe that I could play a Bihari despite being a Maharashtrian. I’m an urban woman, so imagining myself as a deep-rooted villager unable to express her pain was exciting. I took it as a challenge. I had to [convey suffering from PTSD] with more expressions and less dialogues,” says Bapat.
Confident that the series will spark a conversation on mental health, Bapat opens up about her journey towards mental well-being. She sought professional help after caring for her sick mother for three years began to take its toll. “It started by accepting that mental illnesses exist. There is always pressure to prove yourself in this profession. Even after working in Marathi cinema for two decades, I have to prove myself with every film. You feel exhausted and tired. Sometimes you even doubt yourself. In those days I always turned to my husband. [Umesh Kamat] for support. But when my mother got sick, I sought outside help because it was the first time I realized how absolutely exhausted I was as a caregiver. I took a couple of counseling sessions that really helped me,” he shares.
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