Mumbai: Anupamaa fame Rupali Ganguly has come a long way from her initial days in the industry where she didn’t have good luck in the movies and her TV roles were limited to people calling her a ‘fluke’, she says. The actor opened up on her journey as an actor in the industry in her latest interview with ETimes and mentioned that while she had done many shows in the past, it is with Anupamaa that she has finally found her peace as an artiste.
Rupali recalled the time when producer Rajan Shahi first offered her a role after she took a sabbatical from work to concentrate on raising her son. She said that she was taken aback and it was her husband who told her that she hadn’t received her due yet in the industry and Anupamaa could be a chance at that. “When I spoke to my husband (Ashwin Verma) about it, he told me that I hadn’t got my due as an artiste and said, ‘You should take it up and make us proud’. He took a break from his work so that I could get back to acting. In short, he gave me the wings to fly,” she said.
Anupamaa is riding high on the TRP charts and has established Rupali as a performer par excellence in the hearts of the audience. Rupali also talked about her appearance on-screen today. She said that she’s playing a character that doesn’t require her to look in a certain way and she’s happy to see that change in the industry. She said, “To be 40 plus and not have a 26-inch waist when you’re playing the lead can be challenging at times. I always wondered if it would work.”
The actor is also of the opinion that she is not ‘conventionally good-looking’. Comparing her two most popular shows and judging how she looks on-screen, Rupali said, “There were some people who thought that I was just a fluke. But with Anupamaa, they sat up, took notice, and admitted that there is somebody called Rupali Ganguly, who acts well. While Monisha in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai got me noticed, Anupamaa has given me the platform I’ve always craved. I am glad that I have left a mark. My epitaph will perhaps read — here lies Monisha Sarabhai and Anupamaa. Despite not being conventionally good-looking, I have finally been recognised for my talent.”
While we are proud of Rupali’s achievements and she finally finding solace in her work, we certainly don’t agree with the ‘not conventionally good-looking’ part. What do you think?