Celebrating the ‘modern’ woman

Supriya is glad with the way her career has progressed

In society, the role of the mother has changed, so it has changed in films too. However, Indian filmmakers are still behind in creating original content and unique characters.We need to give the audience a lot more variety

Veteran actor Supriya Pathak-Kapur believes she is doing more interesting work now than ever before, as the new crop of directors are coming up with great opportunities for artistes like her.

Supriya, who has classics such as Kalyug, Bazaar, Mirch Masala and Shanghai to her credit besides TV shows like Idhar Udhar and Khichdi, over four decades, has moved on to portray different shades of a mother, with well-defined characters in films like Wake Up Sid (2008), Ram-Leela (2013) and Tigers (2014).

The 60-year-old credited globalisation for the significant changes in Indian society, which has enabled writers to create a ‘modern, independent’ woman with a voice of her own.

“No one would want a sacrificing, sad kind of mother anymore.

Mothers in the real world have changed.

The attitude I have towards my daughter today is much more modern than my mother (veteran actor Dina Pathak) had towards me, even though she was a very modern and emancipated lady herself,” Supriya said.

“In society, the role of the mother has changed, so it has changed in films too,” she added.

However, she feels Indian filmmakers are still behind in creating original content and unique characters. “We need to give the audience a lot more variety,” she says.

The actor can currently be seen in Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s latest directorial venture Toofaan, which started streaming on Amazon Prime Video last week.

She says she originally accepted the role because she had enjoyed collaborating with Mehra in the earlier Delhi-6, but subsequently fell in love with the character of Sister D’Souza, a nurse. “She is an independent woman, who has looked after herself all her life. It’s a very positive character.”

The sports drama features actor Farhan Akhtar in the lead role of a boxer alongside Mrunal Thakur,