I want to direct a feature film in the future, says Tejaswini Pandit

Tejaswini Pandit has been garnering a lot of praise for her performance in Planet Marathi OTT's political crime thriller web-series RaanBaazaar (2022). The actress has played a high-class escort named Ayesha Singh in the ten-episode series which also features Prajakta Mali, Makarand Anaspure, Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Agashe and several other known names from the Marathi film industry.

In a conversation with Cinestaan.com, Tejaswini Pandit spoke about her character from the series. "I play the role of an escort Ayesha Singh who somehow becomes friends with a prostitute named Ratna (Mali), They both get involved in some political scandal. I can't reveal more than that. You need to watch the series to understand the rest of the story."

From a social worker in a biographical drama Me Sindhutai Sapkal (2010) to a dancer in a mindless comedy Ye Re Ye Re Paisa (2018) to now an escort in RaanBaazaar, Pandit has made it clear that she does not believe in playing the same roles again and again.

"I don't like to play the same kind of roles and that's why I actively look for projects which offer me something new," the actress said. "If you go through my filmography, you can see that I am not someone who is fond of playing the same type of characters again.

"Even if I receive flak from a section of the audience for playing 'bold' characters, I will choose to play those roles if they offer me something I have never tried before," she continued. "And this is exactly what happened with RaanBaazaar. I have played bold characters before, but I'm sure you have never seen me in this type of role. [Director] Abhijit [Panse] sir was adamant about my look, make-up and even other minor details. And just like my look, my character is unique."

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Though the actress has copped some flak from the audience for playing such characters, she is unconcerned. "I'm not a currency that everyone will like me," she retorted, "so I have accepted this truth that some will like me and some won't. But I won't let that affect my choice of projects. Also, I'm sure that once they watch the series, all those people who are criticizing me for doing such a 'bold' role will be forced to change their opinion. Because there is a solid reason behind it and you will only get it when you watch the series."

Speaking about Panse's direction, Pandit said, "Abhijit Panse is an active politician, so he knows exactly what he should show to the audience. And his mastery over the craft of filmmaking is quite evident from his films like Rege (2014) and Thackeray (2019), but this series will clear the doubts of those who still don't believe in his craft."

Pandit recently turned producer and launched a production house called Creative Vibe in partnership with her friend Santosh Kher. The actress has also announced an upcoming feature film, Bamboo.

"I decided to be a producer because there were some projects which I really wanted to be a part of but could not because I don't fall in the age bracket of the characters," the actress said. "I desperately wanted to associate myself with such projects, so I decided to turn producer and back them."

After becoming a producer, the next natural step would be to put on the director's cap. "I definitely want to direct a feature film in the future," Pandit said. "But at this moment I believe I don't have the required knowledge to take on such a huge responsibility. Once I'm confident that I have enough knowledge about filmmaking, I will definitely try to become a director. But there is still some time for that."

Asked about the changes she would like to see in the Marathi film industry as a producer, the actress replied, "I hope our filmmakers sit together once in a while and plan their release dates. We sometimes release five or six films on the same Friday. It's wrong to ask the audience to spend their hard-earned money on all these films. So producers should sit and decide their release dates beforehand. It will also make things a lot easier for smaller indie filmmakers."