“Regional cinema is in its golden period,” says Vandana Pathak, who has actively been working on multiple regional films. Her recent Gujarati film, Jalebi Rocks, explored the topic of menopause was received well. Having explored a wide range of roles on TV, Vandana is focused to be a part of shows or films with fresh narratives and opportunities to experiment more. “The young generation is bringing fresh subjects and good writing. Audiences are evolving too; they want more than comedy, they want experimentation and something fresh,” she explains, adding, regional cinema offers a creative space that allows for deeper exploration and authenticity.
“Hindi content has a worldwide reach, so it naturally has a larger audience. Regional cinema is still limited in reach and budget, but we’re evolving. People are keen to explore more in the regional space and having worked for more than 30 years in the industry, as an actor all you want is to experiment with characters which are meaty,” says Vandana, adding, “Currently regional cinema is serving my creative juices well, which was also one of the reasons why I was away from television, seeing I there was nothing exciting being offered to me.”
Last seen in Manmohini (2019), Vandana ended her 6-year-hiatus on television with the TV show, Tumm Se Tumm Takk, which she describes as a “carefully considered decision as nothing exciting was being offered” to her. “After working for decades and playing an array of roles, you either want a role which should be meaty or it should the money being offered to you is good enough. For me, while nothing was exciting to say yes, I also was focusing on working with people I know and feel comfortable with,” says Vandana, adding, how working on television has changed over the years as ‘there’s less time to work on characters, and everything feels repetitive.’
The 49-year-old actor says, “When we used to shoot weekly, we had time to think deeply about the character and the episodes. Now, with daily shows, it’s very challenging—you have to evolve and change because change is inevitable. Back then, there were fewer shows, and we focused a lot on the script and subject. Writers had time to develop stories. Now, with daily shows, there’s less time to work on characters, and everything feels repetitive, which is somehow not working for many shows.”
{{/usCountry}}The 49-year-old actor says, “When we used to shoot weekly, we had time to think deeply about the character and the episodes. Now, with daily shows, it’s very challenging—you have to evolve and change because change is inevitable. Back then, there were fewer shows, and we focused a lot on the script and subject. Writers had time to develop stories. Now, with daily shows, there’s less time to work on characters, and everything feels repetitive, which is somehow not working for many shows.”
{{/usCountry}}She adds, “I’m old school and as an actor I still try to bring that depth in my characters - be it on TV or regional films. I always tell young actors, you must experiment. It’s challenging but necessary for one’s evolution.” Vandana, wraps up by saying, “Change is the only constant, but one can’t deny that content on TV has reached its limit. We need to work on it if we really want shows to work the way it used to.”