Shyam Benegal is one of the most respected and respected filmmakers in the country. Many actors and actresses competed to star in his films. However, only a select few stars were considered for these roles at the time. With this in mind, veteran stars Soni Razdan shared her efforts to star in one of Benegal’s films.
Soni Razdan Shares Her Experience of Dying Her Hair for Collaboration with Shyam Benegal
Soni Razdan, who stars in Shyam Benegal’s Mandi, had gone to great lengths to get him considered for a role. The actress told The Indian Express in an interview that she even once dyed her hair to fit the “type” of heroine he usually plays in his films.At that time, his choice of lead actors in the film were Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, but Razdan did not feel that she was suitable for the genre. She shared, “The way I looked, especially in those days, was completely different from the Smita-Shabana archetype. I guess that’s what he wanted.”She also added that she dyed her hair specifically so she would have more chances to star. “I remember I dyed my hair black so that I would look more like that, but he didn’t think so. I used to wear cotton sarees and silver jewellery. I did everything I could, but he didn’t look at me the same way. So, what can I do? I tried. It was my fault,” she also mentioned.Still, the veteran star did appear in two of Benegal’s films. She starred in Mandi, released in 1983, which revolved around a brothel and starred Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Ratna Pathak, Neena Gupta, Sreela Majumdar, Anita Kanwar and Ila Arun. She also appeared in Trikal, which was released in 1985. Speaking about her filming experience, Razdan shared, “We were just holding our breath waiting for him to decide which actor to put where because there were so many of us.” It was a wonderful experience. “On the work front, the actress and director appeared on the big screen last year in “Heavenly Song.” She also starred in the OTT series “Brown” this year, playing the role of Janice Brown.