Ground Beneath Her Feet

Written by Atikh Rashid | Published: April 22, 2018 9:54:19 am Actor Chhaya Kadam (Quills Studio)Top News

In 2012, when Nagraj Manjule was making his first feature film, Fandry, he had Chhaya Kadam in a prominent role as Naani, the protagonist Jabyas mother. The producers insisted that he cast a well-known actor. However, she finally got the role, which gave her acting career a much-needed boost. By that time, Kadam had appeared in at least half a dozen Marathi films and several short films, but was still waiting for that one opportunity which would turn her career around.

Born in a middle-class family in Mumbai, Kadam studied at Sathaye College, Vile Parle, where she played kabaddi at the state level, and graduated in Textile Design. Though she appeared on stage in school and college, she had never thought of a career in acting. “All this changed after I did a workshop with theatre director Waman Kendre. I realised for the first time what it meant to be an actor. I got an opportunity to act in Jhulwa, a play directed by Kendre sir, which started my journey as a professional actor,” she says.

She was in her late 20s when she began her career in movies. Though her first film Baimanus (2010), based on a novel by Kavita Mahajan, didnt release, it opened doors for more, including Baboo Band Baaja (2011), Mi Sindhutai Sapkal (2010), and Kuni Ghar Deta Ka Ghar (2013). Then Fandry happened. “Working with Nagraj is a delight. All these characters that you see in his films, he has met them personally. So he can describe in detail how certain characters speak, how they walk or what their habits are,” she says. Kadam also did small roles in Hindi films such as Singham Returns (2014) and Budhia Singh-Born To Run (2016).

Then came Manjules second feature Sairat, which saw unprecedented success for a Marathi film. Kadam played a pivotal role, of a strong single woman in Hyderabad, who provides refuge to an eloped couple. She nuanced her dialogues in the film with tips she received from the local camera crew. But despite the success of Fandry and Sairat, people, even in the film industry, failed to recognise her as an professional actor. “I was born and raised in Mumbai. But when Fandry came, people thought I was someone from the rural part of Ahmednagar. After Sairat, people who met me wondered how I spoke fluent Marathi? They thought I was from Hyderabad. I take it as a compliment for portraying these characters perfectly,” she says.

Kadam has big hopes from Ravi Jadhavs Nude, which releases in cinemas on April 27. She plays one of the two models, Chandrakka, who takes to nude modelling out of compulsion. When her niece arrives in Mumbai, to escape an abusive husband, she suggests that Yamuna, too should take up modelling since there is nothing wrong with it. As part of the preparation for the role Kadam and her co-star Kalyanee Mulay, met nude models and also attended sessions at the J J School of Arts in Mumbai. “Before stepping into the room, I was nervous and awkward. I wondered how can we stand there with a bare-bodied woman in the centre, with a bunch of boys and girls staring at her. A few minutes into the session, I noticed that the students were busy at work, and the model before them was talking about her daily chores. There was no shame in her eyes nor was there any amusement in the eyes of the students. After sometime even the two of us forgot that we were watching anything unusual.” Her interactions with Laxmi, a professional nude model for nearly three decades, revealed the students didnt see her as a vulnerable woman but as a guru, a master who was there to teach them.

Controversy surrounding the film at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last year and the films exclusion from the festival caused her great distress. On one hand, Kadam was sure of the release since she believed that it had nothing worth objecting to, but it also made her wonder how these forums worked. “People say that Indian films dont tackle challenging subjects, but when someone tries to make a film on an unexplored issue, you block the film citing non issues. What is an artist supposed to do?”

However, Kadam feels fortunate that she has had the opportunity to do roles of strong women such as Naani in Fandry, Suman Akka in Sairat, and Chandrakka in Nude, which has strengthened her as a person. “These days I often wonder, what would I have done if I faced a situation like Chandrakka?”

Soon, we will see Kadam play the female lead in Sagar Vanjaris Redu and in Sameer Asha Patils Wagherya. Kadam is also part of the cast in Sriram Raghvans next.

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