As any ’90s kid will tell you, Karisma Kapoor’s movies are a separate genre in themselves. As one of the OGs from the era, the actress occupies an interesting space in Bollywood and pop culture. One that has defined Hindi cinema over the years. It’s impossible not to think of her clad in the best of fashion’s offerings, grooving to an iconic number or making audiences laugh with her impeccable comic timing. However, with her latest series Brown, the star has managed the seemingly impossible with a role she’s never done before. The Berlin International Film Festival select series sees her in a de-glam look playing a nuanced character – Rita Brown. Karisma offers a restrained performance as a recovering alcoholic police inspector tasked with solving a gruesome crime. And if you ask her, she says doing this role was as difficult or easy as keeping the audiences hooked to popcorn comedies. A feat she has achieved time and again in her decades-long filmography. Excerpts.
You’ve been selective with your roles of late and brown is so different compared to what you’re known for. What made you say yes to the project?
She’s so raw and so real. The show deals with so many human emotions and relevant topics. There are problems in society that we don’t want to deal with or talk about. But here’s Rita Brown dealing with these things and in doing so, talking about them. That was quite moving for me. It was a big challenge for me. It’s something I’ve obviously never done. Also, it’s something that’s never been seen before on screen, the kind of rawness that she has.
Brown premiered in Berlin where it was one of the Market Selects. How surreal does that feel?
We were both excited and humbled. It’s a matter of great pride for the entire team of Brown. This show was envisioned to be something different. It’s an extremely nuanced show. So for that to be noticed is a great source of gratification for us. We’re grateful that Brown has gotten an international platform to be showcased. There are so many relevant topics that the show brings, related to what is happening to women in the country. It’s being put out there and for it to be seen on an international platform is amazing.
The show tackles some heavy topics. What kind of mental preparation goes into bringing that on screen?
We wanted to keep her so real and human. At the same time, she’s flawed like any human being. No one is a wonder woman. But there’s a lot of empathy for her as well. While shooting, there were days when it was tough to deal with all these things. A lot of research and a lot of work has gone into her character development. Her mannerisms, the way she is and everything.
How different is it to work on a series and keep coming back to the same character as compared to working on a movie?
It’s not that different because you’re just living the character. Our shoots did feel like film shoots. The way I approach it is that you’re just being the character. Even though it’s an episodic situation and a movie might be one flow, while shooting I don’t keep that in mind.
Did you find yourself out of your comfort zone while doing the series?
Yes, it was totally out of my comfort zone. But that was the fun part because here I was literally doing things that I don’t do in real life or things thatI have never done on screen before.
You’ve come back to the ott space while your sister Kareena Kapoor is making her ott debut soon. What kind of conversations do you have about it?
Kareena and I talk about everything, whether it’s acting, motherhood, sharing clothes, diets or which dessert we’re gonna eat. So we also talk about our characters and what’s happening in our projects and how we’re feeling about them. Both of us have each other to bounce this off of. We understand each other where we’re coming from. Sometimes it’s like, “I’ve really had a rough day, please handle everything at home.” Then the other one will be like, “Don’t worry I’m there, you concentrate on the shoot that’s happening.” It’s nice that we have each other and we can be there for each other.
A lot of ’90s actresses – Raveena Tandon in Aranyak and Sushmita Sen in Aarya are now getting meaty parts on OTT, your comments?
They are generally powerful roles. If you see the characters they’re playing, they are all different. They come from different genres but they are strong women in different ways. I would put it this way, maybe on OTT a lot of women are getting strong characters to play.
How different is the industry currently, especially for women?
The ’90s was a completely different time. We just worked on our instincts and frankly, I still do. Today everything is more streamlined. There were films I’ve done back in the ‘90s where we didn’t even have a script. The script just evolved and was developed on the set. Scenes were just written on the spot and performed. Today we have workshops, detailed scripts, the works, so definitely times have changed. But for me, I had a great time back then and I’m having a great time now. I loved both times. It’s been a pleasure to sit on a roundtable and have workshops. We never had that opportunity back then. Going from one set to another and performing it was a different way of learning at that point.
Speaking of evolution, since so much of the process of filmmaking has changed, how much has your acting process evolved over the years?
If you’re a good actor, inherently, you will remain a good actor throughout. Of course, we keep observing, learning and growing. I think observation is something an artiste always keeps in mind, at least Kareena and I do. That’s something I learnt from my grandfather. He used to say, “Always watch people.” Even when I was not working I would observe people and how they react to things. So that’s something I’ve learnt over the years. I think acting is like driving or swimming once it’s in you, it’s in you.
As an actor when you take a break the word “comeback” gets thrown around a lot. What do you think about that?
This word needs to be chucked now because it’s honestly purana. It’s a cliche. I don’t think this happens in Hollywood where after an actress takes a break and then does a movie people say “iska comeback ho raha hai”. So I think the word is archaic and should be shelved now. It’s more about growth and evolving today than anything else. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had the chance to play a variety of roles in my entire career. From Prem Qaidi to all my David Dhawan movies, to getting the chance to work with Yash Chopra and Shyam Benegal and so many greats. I feel like I literally grew up in the industry and it was a gradual growth. And if I may say so, acting is not about just doing serious roles. To work in a David Dhawan movie and entertain is also an art. My kids were young and I wanted to be at home for them at that time. It was my choice that I didn’t want to give 100 days to a movie and promotions and not be at home. I happily say that I thoroughly enjoyed the phase. I started working at a young age so I actually enjoyed the time out of the arclights. I will continue to pick and choose my roles. Today I would like to be more selective. It’s a choice I thankfully have.
