‘Taking a break from Hindi films wasn’t a conscious decision’
An established name in the Marathi film industry, actor Amruta Khanvilkar, was last seen in Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi, where she played the role of Alia Bhatt’s sister-in-law. The film is based on Harinder Sikka’s novel, Calling Sehmat. And, now Amruta will be seen in Satayamev Jayate, which stars John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee.
Before Raazi, her last Bollywood outing was Phoonk 2 in 2010. Ask her the reason behind the eight-year hiatus from Bollywood, she says, “It wasn’t a conscious decision to not do Hindi films. It’s just that I got extremely busy with Marathi films, and that cinema was taking off really well. Today, there’s so much conversation about content-driven films, but they have always been made there in Marathi. And nowadays, that content is going global, even internationally.”
Amruta elaborates on what kept her hooked to working in Marathi films for many years. “I was a part of Saade Maade Teen (Marathi comedy film (2006)), and thereafter, I had to never look back. The song, Wajle Ki Baara, in which I featured, was a chartbuster for more than five years. Sometimes, you just go with the flow till the point you realise that, a lot of time has gone by,” she beams.
Refusing to call Raazi as her comeback film in Bollywood, Amruta says, “I don’t think it’s my comeback. I just played one of the key characters. If you get busy somewhere else, that doesn’t mean that you stop being a part of another industry. One shouldn’t be restricted by boundaries.”
And, all praises for her costars in her next film — John and Manoj — Amruta says, “It was amazing to work with them. Manoj is such a lively person. The kind of films he has done might be serious, but he’s jovial and a complete mastikhor, and John, too, is a complete entertainer.”