Special scripts written for Amitabh Bachchan but not ageing lady actors: Sharmila Tagore
Mumbai (PTI): The Hindi film industry is still a "little ageist" with few roles for women of a certain age like there are in Hollywood for Meryl Streep, Judi Dench or Maggie Smith but things are changing, albeit slowly, says veteran actor Sharmila Tagore.
OTT could be a game changer, says the 78-year-old who returns to films after 2010's "Break Ke Baad" with family drama "Gulmohar".
"We are still slightly ageist, especially with women because powerful roles go to the men. Like special scripts are being written for Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, but not for Waheeda (Rehman) ji and not for many other ageing lady actors," Tagore told PTI.
"Cinema reflects society so the economics of the film matter. Of course, you have to bring in the audience. What comes first chicken or the egg... That's the kind of decision that the captains of the industry have to make. But, things are definitely changing. There are wonderful, more mature actors," she said.
Hindi cinema is not where Hollywood is in terms of offering roles to older women. "There are wonderful, more mature actors, Neena (Gupta) for instance, she is a magnificent actor. There are many others... OTT is full of wonderful performers. It will take time but it will change."
Discussing the lack of strong roles for actors of her age, the Hindi film veteran, who started her career in cinema with Satyajit Ray's "The World of Apu" in 1959, cited the examples of Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
"It will happen here," Tagore said confidently.
The potential for female actors to portray a strong and independent woman onscreen has increased over time, and Tagore is delighted to see this change.
"It was more hand wringing, more beta beta, earlier," she said.
"‘Piku’ (Deepika Padukone's film, in which Amitabh Bachchan featured as her father) was the one where a woman is looking after the father, which is unheard of, would not be accepted, like how can she look after? What her 'aukaat' (status) was, what is her earning power? But it is possible and people accepted that. There are little nuggets of change because there are a lot of working women in the top position of the company," she added.
The actor spoke of her desire to learn new things from the younger generation.
"I am at the end of... not life yet but working life. It is very nice to work with young people from crew to cast, it is a different energy, it is a nice experience," she said.
Tagore, known for her roles in Ray's "The World of Apu", "Devi" and Hindi movie hits such as "Kashmir Ki Kali", "Aradhana", "Amar Prem" and "Chupke Chupke", is eager to learn new things in life, even a foreign language.
"I am learning so many new (things) I had no idea what OG was, now I know, OG is original. You need to be curious and learn, like if it is the lingo of young people, you have to learn that.
"Inaaya (her granddaughter) is teaching me new words. She is playing chess and learning Spanish, I don't want to compete with her but I don't want to be left out. I want to learn a little bit of Spanish," she added.
Tagore said she is thrilled to be playing a a progressive woman in "Gulmohar", directed by Rahul V Chittella and also starring Manoj Bajpayee.
The National Award-winning actor plays Kusum, the matriarch of the Batra family. Actor Manoj Bajpayee will be seen as her onscreen son Arun in the movie.
"‘Gulmohar’ is showing a woman of a certain age being independent, being her own person. That is why I am very happy about the character that I am playing, it is very progressive," she said.
The actor said she instantly fell in love with the script of "Gulmohar", a story with many layers despite being a simple family drama.
The movie revolves around the multi-generation Batra family, who are all set to move out of their family home after 34 years. This moving out triggers a re-discovery of the bonds that have held them together as a family.
"It was a four-day story. It was about a family that lived together but now they are about to scatter, each going their own way, each having anxiety about leaving and yet looking forward to another new chapter in their life. There were many layers to this story, it was not just in a linear way. It is an ordinary story, it is very relatable, it is happening in every house," Tagore said.
The movie is written by Arpita Mukherjee and Chittella, who also serves as a director. He has previously made the short movie "Azaad".
"‘Gulmohar’, which also features Amol Palekar, "Life of Pi" fame Suraj Sharma, Simran Rishi Bagga, and Kaveri Seth, is produced by Star Studios in association with Chalkboard Entertainment and Autonomous Works.
It will be released on Disney+ Hotstar on March 3.
Ask Tagore if she will appear more in films now, she said, she doesn't believe in making plans. After the release of ‘Gulmohar’ she will get along with her life as usual.
"There are lots of things that I have to do which have nothing to do with films, some are un-fun things. So my calendar always remains full, 24 hours is a short time for all the things that I want to do. If a film comes along, I will see.
"Also, time is slipping by and I want to do many things. There is a whole world outside of films. Like this film happened organically, if it happens like that, I won't say no but if it doesn't happen it is also fine," she said.
Isn't she missing acting?
"I don't miss anything. I live in the moment," Tagore added.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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