For television and film actress, Nivedita Joshi-Saraf designing sarees was just a hobby, but as time went by she fell in love with designing and made it a fulltime career option. Today, she is not only known for her acting but also for her unique collection of sarees. She along with Gunjan Cowlagi design studio will be displaying her collection of Pochampalli silk sarees and jewellery at an exhibition titled ‘Hansagamini’ to be held on March 16 and March 17 at Hotel Mandovi, Panaji, NT BUZZ speaks to Nivedita to get an insight into her acting and designing career
Venita Gomes| NT BUZZ
- What made you tread into the world of sarees and jewellery as a commercial venture?
It all started as a hobby. I loved dressing up in sarees; at the same time I had a good eye for colour. People would often ask me from where I got my sarees but I was not satisfied with the sarees that were available in the market, I wanted to do something of my own and a few years back when there was a deluge in Orissa some people approached me saying there are a few sarees remaining and I decided to sell them for no profit and no loss basis at an exhibition where I invited my other Bollywood friends to come and see. It was my first exhibition and I started getting good response. Later, I started purchasing sarees directly from the weavers in order to help them. It was kind of an advantage for them because there was no mediator and therefore they would get the exact profit. Gradually, I started developing interest in sarees and designed my own collection. I also took orders for designing trousseau for foreign customers as well. For this exhibition in Goa I am very excited and hope people like my collection.
- What kind of sarees do you design and what inspired you try something different?
While I was shooting for ‘Sapno Se Bhare Naina’ serial the ‘Star Parivaar Awards’ were taking place and I had to dance with the saree but I found it a little uncomfortable. So, I wore a saree over a salwar but the choreographer said it does not look nice. That time I thought of designing a saree which was a wrap-around skirt that you could drape in three minutes. People who can’t drape sarees easily should go for this and many people appreciated my design.
There are various difficulties when you drape a saree; sometimes the material gets stuck on to the jewellery, either the saree tears or it takes a lot of time to drape. Also Kancheepuram silk saree have an elegant look yet they are heavy. So, I tried working on all the pros and cons of sarees and developed a new kind of saree. I even tried block printing design on my sarees.
- As an actor you have not only acted across the mediums like stage, television and films but also performed in diverse languages; are you comfortable in all these?
There is a thin line of difference between these mediums. I have done radio, theatre and films; all of these are very interdependent mediums. In theatre there is the luxury of working on your character, you can discuss the role with the director, you can improvise on it and it same time it is a live show that you are part of. In films and serials what happens is you are shooting at different locations and there you need to be conscious about the scene and how you are going to do it. Sometimes you are shooting the first scene and then you are made to shoot the future scene; you need to be aware of what kind of expression and reaction to give in future as compared to present. Once the shot is recorded it is locked and therefore it can’t be changed. I love to act irrespective of which medium.
- You had been an important part of the Marathi film industry, when the industry passed through a successful phase of comedy films during the 1980s and 1990s. Today, we see this film industry having come very far from that era and open to experimentation by various filmmakers. How do you look at this change?
I feel that this change is quite good and new generation filmmakers are coming up with innovative and different ideas. Especially, in Marathi cinema if you see they are experimenting with new stories and characters. In comparison to Bollywood, Marathi films are of a lesser budget and they need to show that quality in that duration and hence you can see new experiments being done in order to make the movies more interesting for the viewers to watch. Also, you can learn so much from this generation, they are very creative. The future of the industry is promising.
- Similarly, the world of television has also come a long way since the days of Doordarshan, when you were part of many popular teleserials like ‘Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi’. Would you like to act in the present-day teleserials?
There are pros and cons of both the eras. During ‘Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi’ they were all episodes and people also were not aware what exactly serials were. Gradually, when the era of daily soaps came it gave a lot of people employment. You kind of tend to have the pressure because it is on a daily basis. Also the actors get to learn and improve themselves as they are facing the camera every day. I think daily soap is the learning school for every actor.
- You have a Goa connection after your marriage with actor Ashok Saraf and visit here often. What do you like about the place?
Goa is my favourite, I love coming here. The Indo-Portuguese culture and its influence on the place, has made it different from the rest. You get to see rich cultural heritage come alive in this little paradise. The food here is lovely. I understand Konkani completely. The cultural scene is vibrant and still alive.
- Finally, how do you look at the independence of women? Are you of the opinion that working women is a necessary concept in today’s world, especially since you had stopped working after marriage to focus on your family life?
It was my choice not to work after I delivered a child because being an actor is a 24×7 time consuming job and at that time my husband was also working and I did not want my son to be away from his parents. So, I decided to take a break. But in my opinion every woman should work. We need to empower women. It is said ‘if you educate the girl, you educate the family’ and I am of the opinion that the girl child should be empowered to take up new challenges in life. They need to be independent at the same time people need to respect and encourage them. It is important for every family to respect the women of the house because it has a lot of impact on the mindset of the children, they do what they see.
(Hansagamini sarees by Nivedita Saraf and jewellery by Gunjan Cowlagi design studio will be available at an exhibition that will be held on March 16 and March 17 at Hotel Mandovi, Panaji.)