Ratna Pathak Shah Quotes: Veteran film and theatre actor Ratna Pathak Shah with her admirable screen presence has astounded many, and at times with her outspoken nature, influenced more.
The 63-year-old actor, who began her acting career from theatre, became a household name for her character Maya Sarabhai in the sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.
As years passed by, the actor essayed the supporting roles utmost brilliance, enough to shift our gaze from the leads. Pathak has pushed her limits with almost every role she picked and that gave us the opportunity to witness her as an elderly woman exploring her sexual desires in Lipstick Under My Burkha.
Besides her performance on-screen, the actor stands out for calling a spade a spade. Always in her element, Ratna Pathak Shah has seldom shied away from speaking up about politics, patriarchy or plagiarism in Bollywood. Today on her birthday, here are some of her inspiring quotes.
On the role in Hindi cinema
"They can barely write a good part for Deepika Padukone. So how are they going to write a good part for me? They can't even write a good part for Shah Rukh".
On sexism in Bollywood
“Everyone who decides to act in a film; every woman; I am sorry to be judgemental... but every woman who decides to act in a film like Dabangg where she is made a complete object of lust and more or less, nothing else, those women should also stand up and say 'no, I don't feel doing a part like this.”
On source of entertainment
“Some movies do make greater demands on actors and those are the kind of films that will hopefully help change the kind of films that are made in India. Why are we so happy with Kick and Humshakals? Why do we tolerate this? Aren’t we educated, intelligent people? This is not entertainment, at least not to me.”
On plagiarism
"I have always believed our own stories are fascinating. I never understood why we spent so many years copying. We would constantly copy and be happy with ourselves. Things have been copied, left, right and centre, from scenes to music."
On patriarchy's impact on men
“Patriarchy is hard on men as well as women. So we need to get rid of the root cause of it. Get rid of this idea of patriarchy and find new ways of looking at society.”
On woman being woman’s worst enemy
“A woman has been made to become a woman’s worst enemy because she is the one who socialises within the family. She is the one who is laying down all the horrible laws. They’re not laws she has made. They are laws which she has been told to enforce. She is like the hunting dog of patriarchy.
On art being apolitical
"Simply no. There can’t be apolitical art. Art means something that captures life. Whatever we, as artists, are saying is about our surroundings. Hence, it is political. Political doesn’t only imply parties."
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/iUYfaBbcMozaYLoGnoov.png)
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/post_banners/izYDY3FxoZ210OmSUwQq.jpg)