Rajshri Deshpande: The industry often fails to see the real artistes beyond their screen characters | Web Series
As the debate around responsible content creation in the OTT space gains steam, several actors and filmmakers have come forward and shared their stance. Joining the list, Rajshri Deshpande, best known shows such as Sacred Games, The Fame Game and Trial By Fire, emphasises that while freedom of expression is crucial, content creators must also be aware of the potential impact their work can have on society.
“In any platform, we should see what we are making and know what can create havoc. Art is important and it’s a powerful medium. Even the smallest gesture can create negativity in society. We should talk about freedom but also be responsible about the kind of content we are making. For that, it is important to see how much we know our people. We have to do thorough research before making anything. We have to understand what is actually damaging the society,” she states.
Deshpande’s comments come in the wake of discussions surrounding the regulation of content on digital platforms and recent comments made by I&B minister, Anurag Thakur, who directed OTT platforms to not promote vulgarity in the garb of creativity.
Besides her advocacy for responsible content, the 40-year-old also opens up about an actor’s struggle with typecasting on the digital medium.
“People typecast you immediately,” Deshpande laments, before adding, “The industry often fails to see the real artistes beyond their characters they portray onscreen. They just think that, ‘Okay, she is comfortable in doing this.’ But, they don’t think that I do scenes and I can understand a particular character. It’s the mistake of our industry. They don’t look at art forms and don’t understand craft.”
Deshpande showed a vast variety in her performance when she portrayed a bold character of Subhadra in Sacred Games, took everyone by surprise with her impressive and powerful act in Trial By Fire.
“If you see Sacred Games, the way the first scene is depicted in which she can’t even speak properly and how she gradually becomes the main protagonist’s right hand. Serving her gradual process is the actor’s job. And, the makers and writers processed her journey like that. The storyline demanded those explicit scenes,” she shares.
The actor also touches upon the issue of nudity in art and the fine line between artistic expression and gratuitous titillation. “There are so many shows where you can easily make out that they want to titillate people. You can understand what art is and what is titillating. Nudity is something that we have to decide, what is vulgar and what is not. We are a country of so many sculptures where we have nudity in front of us. We look at it as an art form,” she ends.
