I love laughing at myself, one can’t take oneself too seriously: Renuka Shahane

Shahane knows it is futile to take oneself seriously, so instead of letting trolls affect her, she looks forward to celebrating the power of social media.

There’s a certain candour to a conversation with Renuka Shahane, and this replicates itself in the way she takes life head on. Or is it the other way round? Whatever be the case, Shahane knows it is futile to take oneself seriously.

Renuka Shahane says that she doesn’t take the characters she plays too seriously.

With the year 2020 being what it has been, there are memes galore, the latest template using Shahane’s famous death scene from the cult film, Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! (1994), and she loves them.

“More than anything else, I think me and Tuffy (the dog in he film) are the ones that have been meme-ised the most. A lot of them are very well done and very tongue-in-cheek,” she quips.

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The actor is impressed how people making these memes keep the character “contemporary” and those situations alive in people’s minds.

“There are many young children who might not have seen Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! But when they see a meme, they want to see the film and look it up. I love laughing at myself, I don’t take the characters too seriously or feel offended if people use it in quirky ways. One can’t take oneself too seriously,” adds the 54-year old.

Being a sport, she keeps sharing those memes, believing that social media has the power to bring people together, especially in these grim times. There are many social media hashtags that urge people to share photos in saris, bindis and other items that are a trademark of Indian culture.

Read: Zaira Wasim asks for empathy, tells trolls: ‘Not everyone’s born with a thick skin, not everyone can withstand the harsh criticism’

Sharing her thoughts on those, she tells us, “I don’t think they have any impact on bringing the spotlight on our heritage, but they are a celebration. Rather than having trolls trolling each other constantly, you have a freshness about social media. There are many things that one can do to bring people together. One should look for commonalities. We are bound together by so many beautiful things that we shouldn’t be constantly bickering about things we differ on, but also celebrate things we have in common.”

Interact with Etti Bali @TheBalinian

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