BENGALURU: To have a baby or not completely depends on individuals. But if a woman wishes to have a child but is unable to conceive due to various physical issues or modern-day problems like stress, she often has to face unpleasant situations and questions from society. This puts her morale down and is a blow to her self esteem,” voiced actor Rajeshwari Sachdev, who was in the city for a talk on the stigma that surrounds infertility among women. Known for her role in Shyam Benegal’s film Sardari Begum, the 44-year-old actor said she chose to speak about this topic as people consider infertility a taboo to this day.
Even if infertility has solutions like adoption, surrogacy, IVF treatment, people chose not to talk about it, she said during a conversation with CE. “Any problem can be solved with talking. I have seen so many women who wish to be mothers but are not able to conceive get depressed only because they do not seek solution and keep quiet about their problems,” said Sachdev, who is a mother of a boy. She was planning to conceive when she was 25, but eventually became a mother at 30.
Recipient of the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sardari Begum, the Bollywood actor says her journey in acting has been rewarding with many rich experiences. “As I grew up in a multi-cultural and multi-lingual neighbourhood, I could not remain untouched by the grace and humility of middle-class Maharashtrian women. By looking at them, I realised the value of staying grounded, which always helped me improvise my acting. This is one of the things that my directors appreciated.”
In terms of the impact of a story on someone, Sachdev’s theory is: “Every story impacts the mind, more so if you are in a similar situation.” She also adds that she has always been a theatre actor first and then a film actor. “Theatre keeps you grounded and hones your skill well. It is never easy but is definitely gratifying,” she asserts.