Sushmita Sen says she cannot be a part of something regressive as an actor and that’s why web series Aarya , which marks her return to mainstream acting after a decade, appealed to her.
The actor said she had offers prior to the show but they were not as appetising and interesting as her role in the Disney+Hotstar series. The show start streaming from June 19.
I don’t think women today in India are bechari’. If you want a show in the present time, you can’t make something regressive and I, for one, will not work in that scenario. I can’t work in something that is regressive, I never will, Sen told PTI in an interview.
The Bollywood star said she wants to align herself to inspirational stories.
It doesn’t always has to be mind-blowing as central characters are but I can’t do something that is uninspired and give six months of my life to it unless it has substance in it to inspire people, Sen, whose last Hindi film was Anees Bazmee’s 2010 film No Problem , said.
In the show, the actor plays the role of Aarya Sareen, a happily married woman whose world turns upside down when her husband (Chandrachur Singh) is shot. She gets to know that he may have been involved in an illegal drug racket which now threatens her family.
The 44-year-old actor said Aarya‘ is an author-backed role where she gets to play a woman who rises when put in a tough spot.
When you look at Aarya, she is not an extraordinary woman doing extraordinary things. She has a lot of grit and conviction but she has been put into places where she didn’t want to be. Sen said often in cinematic representation, women are put in direct competition with the man to show them stronger, which is unnecessary.
The web series, which is based on the Dutch series Penoza , is co-directed by Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi and Vinod Rawat.
Sen said Madhvani, best known for his biopic on Pan Am flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, does not see characters in terms of their genders. (PTI)