Marathi actress Shilpa Tulaskar is set to reprise her role of Kusum in Zee Theatre's teleplay Savita Damodar Paranjpe. The role, an iconic character on stage, was once portrayed by the late Reema Lagoo.
Admitting that she was initially nervous about taking on such an iconic character, Tulaskar said, "I needed to know if I would be able to do justice to it. I called Reemaji to seek her blessings. She was warm and encouraging and asked me not to get stressed or try too hard. The fact that she said 'I know you will do well' was reassuring. She is no more, but I was, am, and always will be one of her greatest fans and this role is my tribute to her.”
Reema Lagoo (1958-2017): The new age Mother India
Savita Damodar Paranjpe is a psychological thriller that chronicles the story of Sharad and Kusum who have been married for eight years. Their seemingly happy existence is marred by one nagging problem — Kusum's health. Their life changes when their neighbour's nephew Ashok enters their lives and secrets start to unravel.
The teleplay also stars Vinay Jain, Aroh Welankar and Pooja Welling.
Performing Savita Damodar Paranjpe has been an amazing journey for Tulaskar and she hopes the play’s twists will be enjoyed by a new generation on Zee Theatre.
“The play has been written so beautifully by Shekhar Tamhane that it doesn't seem dated even now," she said. "My mother remembers watching the play live a long time ago and now I am part of the digitized version that will bring Kusum to life for audiences who may not even be aware of her story."
The psychological thriller play was also adapted into a film of the same name three years ago. The film, tarring Subodh Bhave, Trupti Toradmal and Raqesh Bapat, was directed by Swapna Waghmare Joshi.