Actor Meenakshi Seshadri on 40 Years of Meri Jung: A milestone in my career

Celebrating 40 years of Meri Jung, Meenakshi Seshadri shares insights into her journey and role evolution in the film

For Meenakshi Seshadri Mysore, Meri Jung is “undoubtedly one of the milestones” of her acting career. “The film has been an iconic Bollywood commercial cinema, and even after 40 years, people continue to like it,” she tells us.

Meenakshi Seshadri

She was still new to films when this Hindi drama, which turns 40 today, came her way. “I was very new in the industry back then and had already done the film Hero (1983) with (director) Subhash Ghai,” she says. Because of this connection, she “came on the board later” for Meri Jung.

Interestingly, her role was originally different. “The original script had the leading lady playing the role of a doctor who needs legal help in a poison case. However, the director wanted a glamorous lead, and so my character was sketched as the sister of the doctor, a role later played by (actor) Beena Banerjee.”

Talking about her co-stars Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri in the film, “Amrish Puri sir was a very dynamic villain of his time and Anil and I both got to learn so much from throughout the shoot of film. I feel film;s story was much ahead of his time,” says the actor

Anil Kapoor’s character was the film’s primary focus; he played a man seeking revenge for his father’s wrongful conviction. On the film being hero-centric, Meenakshi adds, “I knew from the very beginning that this was totally Anil’s vehicle. Following this actors such as Nutan ji, Amrish Puri had more significance and importance in the story. Nevertheless, I had full faith in Subhash Ghai sir and his creative choices.”

Looking ahead, Meenakshi is reviewing several scripts across formats as she prepares to return to the screen. Last year, she recreated the track Jeet Jayenge Hum Tu Agar from the film along with actor Manjari Fadnis