The recently concluded 67th National Film Awards announcements turned out to be quite special for the team of Anandi Gopal. It was recognised as the Best Social Film and fetched the Best Production Design trophy for Sunil Nigvekar and Nilesh Wagh. The Marathi language drama traces the inspirational real-life story of Anandibai Joshi, India’s first woman doctor. It makes a case for women education and how no dream is ever too big to be realised.
Actress Bhagyashree Milind plays the title role in this acclaimed period piece set in the 19th century, and reacts to the film bagging the prestigious honours. “I am very happy for the entire unit. Creating a period film is not an easy task. A lot of detailing needs to be done in costumes, makeup and set design because the audience need to feel that they are in that time. We had set up the market places, houses and classrooms of different cities, from Konkan to Kolhapur, and the way all of it has been done is truly remarkable and it’s truly deserved,” she shares.
Anandi Gopal follows the title character as she turns her passion for studying into the dream of becoming a doctor after losing her newborn baby to severe illness. During the course of the film, Anandi battles all odds, from societal prejudice against women to travelling abroad alone and becomes the first practicing female physician of India. She tragically passed away due to tuberculosis at 22.
Asked what attracted her to Anandi Gopal, Bhagyashree says, “I have huge respect for women who were visionaries, who were way ahead of their time, who not only dreamt of something but actually went ahead and pursued their dreams and went out of the way for it. At that time, it was rare for a woman to study and in that era, for a 14-15 year old girl to say ‘I want to be a doctor’ was a huge thing. So when I was called to audition and got selected for the part, I was very excited because it was an opportunity that every actor would want. At the same time, it was also a huge challenge and a difficult role to pull off. But I am happy to be able to play the role of Anandibai Joshi who is such a respected personality.”
Bhagyashree also points out the aspects of Anandibai’s life she relates to. “She fought a lot and overcame many obstacles to achieve her dreams and I would like to inherit this quality from Anandibai. I also resonate with her passion and will power.”
Bhagyashree started out as a child artist.
“I was 15 when I did Balak Palak. It was a one act play. I was associated with it through my theatre group when I was doing eleventh standard. I was awarded at the Marathi Inter Collegiate competition for it, which was a huge thing at that time but I never thought of acting as a career because no one, even from my extended family, is associated with the industry. After college, I got my first role in Balak Palak (film).”
About her process of choosing a script, she says, “I go by sheer instinct. At the same time, I would also like to choose different roles. I don’t want to be boxed in a type and would love to play versatile parts. Till now, I have been the chosen one and I owe it to the directors who finalised me. But I am happy that I cracked the auditions. While choosing scripts, I want to be able to give hope to my audience. I should be able to challenge myself and go out of my comfort zone.”
About doing glamorous parts in the future, something completely different from Anandi Gopal, Bhagyashree says she would not shy away from anything as long as it adds to the film.
“A good role is a good role. It doesn’t really matter if the girl I am playing is glamorous or not. I don’t think like that. I just go by the character. If it is adding something to the story and has substance, I would take it up.”
She has a take on women-centric films in Bollywood.
“The change is already happening. I see people enjoying all sorts of films. Certainly, we do need more films where women take the center stage and there are good parts for them. I get inspired by a film like Gunjan Saxena and would like to see more such stories being told.”
She names Vidya Balan, Shah Rukh Khan and Kamal Haasan as her inspiration.
“I love Vidya Balan’s versatility. I feel Kamal Haasan Sir is a superb actor. The kind of cinema he has done, it has been way ahead of its time,” she signs off.
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