2024-05-08 07:06:03
Jyotika, wife of South superstar Surya, had an exclusive conversation with Navbharat Times. During this, he talked about his career, marriage and children. Told that he did 50 films but even today he got the role of standing with the hero. Only young actresses are given priority in the industry.
highlights
- Actress Jyothika told in the interview that even today young heroines are given priority in the industry.
- Jyotika says it is not easy to start a career after a break from marriage and children.
- Actress Jyothika said that her mother taught her that it is important for girls to have a bank balance.
Actress Jyotika, who started her career in Bollywood about 25 years ago with a film like ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’, received many awards and fame by working in all the languages of the South. Jyothika, who took a break for her children after marrying South star Surya, is now enjoying her second innings. Jyothika, who was seen as Ajay Devgan’s heroine in Shaitan, is in the news these days with Rajkumar in ‘Srikanth’. An exclusive interview with him.
How difficult was it to take a break at the peak of your career and how was the journey after that?
-It depends on whether you are meeting the right person in life or not. I found the right person in Surya and after that this phase was not difficult for me. I had thought from the beginning that I have to get married at the right time and have children. Although I had not planned anything. Everything happened automatically. I had to marry Surya at any cost, so I took a break. We were madly in love. We were together for 6-7 years and had also done our first film together. I took a break again after kids. I have a 15 year old daughter and 13 year old son. Then I started getting offers for South films again. At that time, there came a period when for 6-7 years I did not heroine but strong women-oriented films, not such characters which are shown in films, such characters which do multitasking in real life. During that period, I got a chance to do films as per my choice. Then there was a break of 3-4 years due to Covid, but I started getting offers for Hindi films. My intention behind choosing roles was that women could look at my roles in theater with their heads up. In fact, after marriage, I saw how strong my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and other women around me were. Even the house cannot function without them. I saw real life. There may have been a story of a daughter in Shaitan, but the role of the mother was very strong. Similarly, the character of his teacher in Srikanth is very strong. He is the backbone of Srikanth.
Is it true that your husband Surya convinced you to play the role of Srikanth?
-No, it was nothing like that. When I was offered this role, I liked the story and my character very much. When I told this story to Surya, he also liked it very much. He was happy with this proposal. We all are fans of Rajkumar Rao. Surya felt that this could be a good start again in Hindi. I was offered this role earlier, but Shaitan was released first. Surya supported me a lot.
You have played Rajkumar Rao’s teacher in the film. Who do you consider as your teacher in your life?
-Definitely my mother, because I started my career at a very young age. At that time I was only 17-18 years old. At that time mother encouraged me to work. He took all the decisions for me. He taught me how important it is for someone, especially a girl, to have a bank balance. My mother had dedicated herself to making a career and becoming self-reliant since the age of 15-16. He played a very important role in my life. I used to be very introverted, but my mother chose this career for me, had she not been there, I don’t know what would have happened to me.
When did you feel most accomplished as a strong woman and empowered actress?
-One of my films was released in South. The theme of that film was that why should a woman return to work at the age of 36 after the birth of two children? After the release of that film, whenever I went anywhere, women would come to me in public places or at the airport and say, after watching your film, I have started working again. The impact that film had on common women was a great achievement for me.
How challenging was it for you to restart your career after marriage, children and a break?
-too much. I will say this very openly. After marriage and children, you have to wait a long time to get the roles of your choice. Had to refuse many roles. One has to work with a lot of patience. Even today in our industry, preference is given to young heroines. Even in foreign countries. Many times you have to say no to big films because your role is just to stand with the hero. However, we are seeing changes in the roles of women, the credit for this goes to OTT. Now like I have an amazing role with Shabana Azmi ji in my upcoming web series.
But what feels worst about being a woman?
-If I say that in cinema, be it South or North, when we get an offer for a big film with a big hero, we do not get a role even after doing 50 films on screen or are told, you only have one or two scenes. , then it feels very bad. We are made to feel that we are being given a chance to work with big heroes. Then we feel inferior that after doing so much work, we are expected to stand with the hero without any role. I have refused such roles many times.
How has your husband Surya fulfilled you?
-They have been very cooperative. Even when I had to leave the industry, he supported me. When I shifted to Mumbai with my children two years ago, he also supported me. He has supported my every decision. For the success of a marriage, it is important to give space and respect to each other. Now when I go for shooting, he stays at home. One of us needs to be at home during work hours. We had made this rule at the time of marriage itself. Yes, initially I stayed at home more, but now we take turns taking responsibility of the house and children.
About the Author
Rekha KhanRekha Khan is the Features and Entertainment Editor at Navbharat Times, Times Group. He has worked for over two decades in renowned publications, magazines and radio. For her contribution in the field of journalism, she has been honored with many awards like Stree Shakti Puraskar, Power of Pain, Most Inspiring Woman in Journalism, Most Powerful Woman in Media. Apart from journalism, Rekha also loves writing and reading. He has written a Gujarati novel titled ‘Koi Sapna Na Kharido’. She is a very good speaker and anchor. Along with anchoring TV shows, she has also shown her talent in acting. Read more
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