Pallavi Joshi: ‘I never prioritize my work over my children’

Actress and producer of 'The Kashmir Files', Pallavi Joshi is much more than Mrs Vivek Agnihotri. She is an accomplished actress, having cracked the histrionic code with sterling performances in Shyam Benegal’s SurajKa  Satwan Ghoda, Subhankhar Ghosh’s Woh Chokri, Nabendu Ghosh’s Tishnagi and Govind Nihalani’s  Rukmavati Ki Haveli. Pallavi is also a well-known television anchor, music-show host, and many other things. Pallavi Joshi in an interview with Firstpost, speaks on The Kashmir Files’ impact on her life and on the nation. Excerpts:

 How does it feel to be the most successful female producer of Indian cinema?

It is unfortunate that in our film industry we have stopped making good or bad films. We are only making hit or flop films for the longest time. A film is not judged on its merit. It is judged on the basis of its box-office performance. In that case, if people are saying that I am a successful producer because our film has made over Rs 350 crores at the box office, then it doesn’t sit well with me and it doesn’t matter to me.

 What matters to me is that ‘The Kashmir Files’ has touched millions of hearts of Indians. Vivek and I had made a promise, not just to the Kashmiri Pandit community but also to ourselves that we’ll bring the truth about the Kashmir valley in front of people. And it looks like we have succeeded in doing so. In that sense, we are very proud of ourselves

 The success of The Kashmir Files has taken the nation by storm, we have never seen anything like this before. To what do you attribute this unprecedented phenomenon?

The word you used—unprecedented—is absolutely right. And I think the reason it happened was that India has been a country of diversity. We have all learnt to love each other happily despite all the diversity. Having said this, it is also true that Kashmiri Pandits are settled in different parts of India. People have known their stories in bits and pieces. Kashmir has always been a disputed part of our nation. While people knew that Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of the Valley they didn’t know why, how, or when it happened. I Am Buddha, our production company, is known for its research-based projects. I think people expected us to research the subject (of Kashmiri Pandits) which we did. We were working on this film for the past four years.  They were waiting to know the truth about Kashmir from us. After the abolishment of Article 370 every Indian is invested in the future of Kashmir. I think this is why there was this tremendous response to our film from Day One. And it just kept growing. Also, when it was seen that people who never went to movie theatres were going to see this film, that became a big incentive for more people to watch the film. Then the film penetrated the ‘D’ centers, the villages where they don’t have theatres. Bubble theatres were created for this audience. This is an unprecedented phenomenon. The reviews on social media and also the traditional reviews helped.

Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' has been receiving a lot of love at the box office.

 You have been as integral a part of the film's evolution as Vivek Agnihotri. How did you go about researching and processing the project?

 We spent four years on this film and three years on research. After the research was done, we needed basic human stories to back up the research. Kashmir had so far been seen only from the political point of view. But we needed to know what the Kashmiri Pandits felt when they were being targeted. That’s when we went to meet the families of the victim of the genocide, families of people whose homes were burnt down, women were gang-raped and so many things happened to them that I can’t even talk about here.  We were helped by the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora. They identified the victims. We started interviewing these people. And we realized they had not been given a chance to speak during the last thirty years. Different governments, media and intellectuals all ignored them. This community had given up hope. We went to their homes, sat and ate with them. We put them at ease and then we did the interviews. We shot all the interviews on video in the long format. I can’t tell you about the amount of emotions that were shared in those one-and-a-half months when we interviewed the kin of genocide victims. Every single person we interviewed broke down not only because we had reopened the wounds.

 You are not only a producer but also a renowned actress, a wife and mother. How do you balance out all these roles? Is there ever a clash of interest?

There is no clash of interest because my children understand that their mother is an actor, and producer. My husband understands that I am also a mother. The actor in me understands all the other roles. I wear multiple hats. These roles didn’t crop up overnight. As a family, we have grown into it. It has been accepted beautifully by my husband and children. They have seen how I am taking on more responsibilities, little by little. I never prioritize my work over my children. Neither did I prioritize their needs over my work. I’ve been working with Vivek for 10 to 12 years. I am with him constantly in the capacity of wife and producer.

 You also played a very tough negative part of a pseudo-intellectual instigator. What made you choose this part? And how difficult was it playing such a dark character with a sinister agenda?

 You know when we did the first draft of the script, I actually cursed Radhika Menon for being the woman that she is. Then Vivek turned around and spoke. ‘Would you like to play her?’ It was a welcome change for me. I have only ever played positive characters and I have played empowered women. But somehow, I am always crying in my films. So, this role was a welcome challenge. As far as the sinister agenda is concerned, everyone has an agenda. Having an agenda is not a bad thing per se. It only becomes sinister when you put some colour on it. This kind of white-washing about the truth about the Kashmiri Pandits was wrong and unnecessary and it was sinister also. But when I portrayed Radhika Menon, I didn’t see her as a woman with a sinister agenda. That’s how we see women becoming caricatures in our films. The villains are so uni-dimensional. I looked at Radhika as a woman who is opinionated, so much so that she can brainwash you into her beliefs.  She is also a terrific hostess. People like her. She may be in love, who knows? It was wonderful to know Radhika Menon. I’d like to spend an evening with her if she doesn’t talk about politics. It’s only when she starts giving her political speeches that we realize what a vile agenda she has.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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