Bollywood Isn't Just A Place Full Of Big Bad Wolves: Roshmila Bhattacharya

In a candid chat with SheThePeople, Roshmila Bhattacharya talks about her new book, how Bollywood is not just a place full of big bad wolves, the changing face of entertainment journalism and many untold stories about the megastars. Did you know that once Shah Rukh Khan asked his driver to drop her home because it was too late? Some edited snippets from the conversation.

It is one thing to see your Bollywood heartthrob dancing on the silver screen, but an entirely different ball game to interview them while wondering whether you can catch the last local home. “I was constantly looking at the watch,” confesses Roshmila Bhattacharya. Author-Journalist Bhattacharya has spent three decades of her life breaking stories and exclusives about the film industry. Bhattacharya in her latest book Matinee Men A Journey Through Bollywood captures the journey of 13 iconic actors from Bollywood. 

Spending so much time on the set gave her a ringside view of the film industry. Bhattacharya says, “This book would not have been written if I hadn’t been on the sets. The book is all about things that were never written, what you saw on the sets, what you heard, the little things that you got to know about the star that can only come if you can spend a lot of time.”

The book traces the lives of silver screen heartthrobs starting from Ashok Kumar to Irrfan Khan and John Abraham. She shares that some of the younger readers are as intrigued by the Ashok Kumar chapter or Dilip Kumar chapter as much as they are with the ones on Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan. She confesses that “these 13 are not my favourite, there are several others who are equally deserving to be featured in a book, the reason I chose them was my interaction with them was interesting enough to merit a chapter.”

Today, even if a person is covering politics they want to interview a Shah Rukh Khan.

Here is our conversation with Roshmila Bhattacharya:

On the changing face of entertainment journalism

Bhattacharya believes, “Entertainment today has become a very vibrant beat, a lot of youngsters want to get into entertainment. In our times we were constantly asked 'where did you meet him? Did you meet him in the studio? Who was there in the room with you? Oh, you met him at the home? Did you sit together alone?' Now it is not the big bad world of Bollywood anymore. Entertainment now is a beat that every journalist aspires to do at some point. Today, even if a person is covering politics they want to interview a Shah Rukh Khan.”

On Richa Chadha Portraying A Dalit Woman

Addressing the recent controversy around Richa Chadha playing the role of a Dalit leader in the upcoming film Madam Chief Minister, Bhattacharya says, "I feel the way everyone cannot be a writer, so in the same way everyone cannot be an actor. Very few people are very comfortable in front of the camera." She asks, “When you say a Dalit woman should portray a Dalit, how do you know that she will be able to bring whatever she feels to the screen?"

 Here is what she has to say:

"You needn't be from a particular strata of society to understand the pain they are going through" says author @RoshmilaBhattarchaya on @richachadha portraying a Dalit woman. She adds, "Everyone cannot be an actor" - Interview with @deepshikha_01 #madamchiefminister pic.twitter.com/NLRvRIrQue

— SheThePeople (@SheThePeople) January 22, 2021

Should the film fraternity women be more outspoken?

According to Bhattacharya, “Not just women actors but women from every profession need to be able to speak their mind. It is important that they put their point across and they have an opinion. But at the same time, there is a certain amount of responsibility also.”

 She adds that actors are not just professionals, they are also icons, and there are people who aspire to be like them. "I wish that a lot of younger actors are far less diplomatic. We are today at a time where it is important to get your point across. It is important to say things that can help others. We are the privileged ones we have a voice. There are a lot many women in the interiors who don’t have a voice yet. It is important to say things to charge them up to help them come out and conquer the world. And actresses can help since they are aspirational role models they can help these women come to the fore.”

I wish that a lot of younger actors are far less diplomatic.

Matinee women

If a Matinee Women is to ever happen, who all will feature in her book? “There are a couple of actresses who I want to feature who I have never met, like Madhubala, Meena Kumari or Geeta Bali has always intrigued me as much as a Guru Dutt. And Vidya Balan and others like Raveena, Madhuri and Sridevi,” Bhattacharya signed off.