In 1989, a young Bhagyashree made her way into the hearts of Bollywood fans after being cast as heroine in the Salman Khan-starrer, Maine Pyar Kiya, which also marked Sooraj Barjatya’s debut. Eight years later, she stepped into Telugu with Omkaram, starring Rajasekhar, and then followed it up with Rana opposite Balakrishna. And now, almost two decades later, she has returned to Telugu cinema with Two States, in which she plays a mother to debutante actor Shivani Rajasekhar.
“It feels just like yesterday that I was a heroine in a Telugu film. I’ve done only a handful of films here, but people still remember them while talking about me. It makes me happy. All these years, I have been busy taking care of my family. Some interesting offers have been coming my way and now, I think it’s the right time to accept them,” says Bhagyashree.
In the Two States remake, Rajat Kapoor and Bhagyashree will play a Bengali couple. “It also has my friend, Lissy, playing Adivi Sesh’s mother. We had a lot of fun on the sets. The energy of these youngsters is infectious and Sesh brought life to the sets. Director Venkat Reddy also helped a lot.”
She believes in adapting herself physically to fit in the role. “It’s very important to look as the character does; that’s half the job done. To bring authenticity to my character, I have worn Bengali sarees.”
While years have passed by, Bhagyashree’s appearance doesn’t show it. The Mumbai-based actor says her looks were a bit of a problem for the film. “Sesh, Venkat, and some unit members were worried that I didn’t look the age of my character. But my character isn’t just a mother; there’s more to it.”
The 49-year-old is even planning to dub for the film. “I don’t know Telugu; so Venkat helped me with the lines. I don’t act for the sake of being in cinema. It’s important to understand the lines. Even pauses should look perfect.”Besides Two States, she has also signed Kannada film Seetharama Kalyana, starring Nikhil Gowda. “I play a young girl in this film—entirely in contrast to the one I play in Two States. I’m not the heroine though,” she laughs.
While Bhagyashree’s name is being associated with the upcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer Kesari, she denies having been approached. “I have worked with him in the past, of course, but so far, I have not been approached for this film.”
In this second innings, she’s keen not to get complacent. “I’m a mother of two grown-up children and have to play my age in films. If my role’s strong enough, I don’t mind playing the villain too,” she says.
Meanwhile, her son Abhimanyu Dassani has also forayed into Bollywood with an action-comedy, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. The film had won top honours at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “He’s got international recognition with his first film and it makes me really proud. It’s the opening film at the Mumbai Film Festival. I can totally relate to his success. I got something like that with Maine Pyar Kiya,” she says.