Pooja Bhatt: Playing my age in this youth-obsessed industry

From offering age-appropriate role to examining #MeToo from a woman’s gaze, Pooja Bhatt discusses how Bombay Begums is the perfect web debut for her

"You know what they say, life happens to you when you’re busy making other plans," begins Pooja Bhatt, who was offered Bombay Begums when she was assisting director-father Mahesh Bhatt on Sadak 2. The Netflix series marks her foray into digital entertainment. In a way, the all-women drama is also a comeback vehicle for the actor-filmmaker, who stayed away from the big screen since the early 2000s, barring a cameo in Sadak 2. 

As Rani, CEO of a leading bank, Bhatt leads the Alankrita Shrivastava-directed venture that tells the story of five women navigating their dreams and desires in a male-dominated world. The biggest incentive for the actor, 49, was that the story offered her an age-appropriate role — a rarity in Indian showbiz. “I was privileged to play my age in this youth-obsessed industry. Even if you come back 30 years later, you are catering to some fantasy that people have had about you when you were 19.

Alankrita Shrivastava

Unfortunately, your best work becomes something you can’t get over. In my case, it was Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin [1991]. [Here], I had the privilege to deal with issues that women my age do. In our world, we’re told not to say our age out loud, or [discuss] issues of menopause. Beyond that, when we try to excel in a male-dominated world, any degree of fatigue or vulnerability we exhibit is looked upon as a chink in our armour.” 

Even though Rani is far divorced from her, Bhatt — one of the few female filmmakers in the industry — says she understood her journey. “I have been a producer. I know how biased the business can be, so I drew from that [experience]. Alankrita told me that I don’t need to [emphasise] my power because true power doesn’t scream. That became the bedrock for the character.”

The series brings the #MeToo movement in sharp focus, examining it from a woman’s gaze. Bhatt remembers that filming the sequence was emotionally draining for the actors. “The scene sees Plabita Borthakur’s character [the survivor] recount what happened to her. It was an uncomfortable day for all of us because you are making the person go through the entire experience all over again. There is not a single false note in the show’s [treatment of the subject].”

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