Sachin Kundalkar was hesitant to offer Gulabjaam to me, says Renuka Shahane

Renuka Shahane has been receiving rave reviews for her performance in Sachin Kundalkar’s Marathi movie Gulabjaam, that is doing well at the box office.

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The actress has managed to make an impact despite appearing in only a couple of scenes. During an exclusive chat with Cinestaan.com, Shahane revealed that initially the director was hesitant to offer her the role and that she had only one scene in the film.

“When he narrated the film, I had only one scene. The other scene where I bring her (Sonali Kulkarni) back home was not even there earlier. Sachin Kundalkar was very skeptical and was sorry for offering me just one scene. He said, 'I don’t know how you will react.' I said that it all depends on the scene,” recalled Shahane.

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The actress added that she agreed to do the film not just because she liked that one scene. “The whole set up was very good; very attractive. It is necessary. You can’t do it just because you like that one scene. It also depends on who the makers are and the entire film,” she said.

Shahane was impressed with how the depth of the character was established in such a short span. “The special thing is that although she comes only for one scene, somehow they have managed to give the audience an idea of what she must be earlier, which I think was great. It was a challenge for me to bring that up in just one scene and yet make that impact. It was wonderful working in Gulabjaam. It was liberating. I love Sonali Kulkarni. She is such a dear friend. I have admired Sachin’s work. I have worked with Siddharth (Chandekar) also in Dusari Goshta (2014). I know how sweet he is,” she said.

The actress is known for playing sweet tempered characters in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! (1995) and television shows like Circus (1989), Surabhi (1993) and Sailaab (1995). In a surprise appearance in Gulabjaam, the audience saw her playing a mean character for the first time.

Speaking of her character, Shahane said, “In fact, Sachin himself said that I have never seen you like this before. He got scared (laughs). I told him, it is you who made me do this. But I am sure there must be this meanness inside me. Else how could I have shown it?” she added with a laugh.