By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
The coquettish Durga of tele serial ‘Gandevta’,was eventually picked up to portray the coveted role of Draupadi in the epic serial Mahabharat. Interestingly, earlier Juhi Chawla had been chosen to play the prestigious role but she refused to become the wife of five Pandavas following the box office success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in which she played opposite Aamir Khan. Naturally, therefore, when she conveyed her feelings, the veteran producer-director B.R. Chopra felt insulted .He immediately started looking for a more suitable replacement.
According to sources close to the B. R Unit, Debashree Roy was a hot favorite as she was believed to be close to B. R .Chopra. Talented and seasoned actresses like Poonam Dhillon, Anuradha Patel, Rati Agnihotri, Sujata Mehta, and Deepa Sahi were in the race to bag the role. But it was Roopa who eventually bagged the role surprising many in the industry. I interviewed the playfully cute starlet at length. Excerpts from my interview with Roopa Ganguly in Bombay:
Q. Roopa, how did you manage to get the role in the first place?
A. B. R. Copra was too impressed by my performance in ‘ ‘Gandevta’, therefore he contacted me over the phone asking me to come over for a formal screen test. The rest everybody knows.
Q. You were picked up from 28 contenders earlier short-listed. What was your immediate reaction when your selection was announced.
A. I was overwhelmed so to say. It was too challenging a role and I was prepared enough to do justice with my character.
Q. What have been your major achievements in this field as an artist ?
A. I have already been featured in in a few Vijay Chatterji’s Bengali serials and also appeared in 20 episodes of other serials, besides, working in a Bengali film, too. Though I was offered an important role in Vinod Pande’s “Such”, I refused as I was expected to do nude scenes in revealing outfits.
Q. But in ‘Gndevta’ you did a similar role?
A. I agreed to the do the role because the story demanded such an erotic dress. In the beginning, It looked embarrassing but later on I managed things. Moreover, if I had refused the role at that juncture, it could have cost too dearly to the makers who had already spent a huge sum on the project.
Q. It is said that every young and aspiring starlet makes certain compromises with the producer or the director when she is offered a role. What have your experiences been in this regard.?
A .The very yard stick of morality and decency differs from person to person. In our industry when a girl is replaced by another for certain reasons she starts blaming the filmmaker. The most common allegation being that she was asked to oblige or please either the producer or the director and when she refused to do so she was thrown out of the project. But at the same time it did not mean that the latter got the role only because she agreed to please or oblige the willing party’ .
Q. Kissing and nude scenes are being shown with impunity in films these days .Suppose you too are caught up in a similar situation?
A. I am unlike most girls who are too willing to grab the opportunity at any cost. frankly speaking, I am not the kind that crazy. I would refrain from doing such scenes unless the story really demanded such a situation and I am convinced by the director to go ahead with the scene.
Q. Film actresses are very often seen either smoking or drinking in public. Are you used to these things?
A. I do not see any harm in either smoking or drinking. I seldom drink & that too with a select group.
Q. Who are your favorite film stars?
A. Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Sanjeev Kumar. Among producers I go with Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan and B. R. Chopra who produced many social hits.
