Before playing an important character in Gulmohar, Kaveri Seth’s introduction to films was initiated by the acclaimed-film-maker Mira Nair who had taken her under her wings as an assistant in A Suitable Boy starring Ishan Khatter and Tabu. Being cognizant of Kaveri’s love for acting, Mira extended the role of Shireen Irani and ever since then, there has been no turning back for the actress. Kaveri recently won everyone’s heart with her performance in Gulmohar.
During an exclusive and freewheeling interview with News18 Showsha, Kaveri shared that the sets of Gulmohar was an acting institution with stalwarts like Manoj Bajpaaye and Sharmila Tagore headlining the project. Expressing her adulation for her co-actors, Kaveri shared, “Sharmila Ji felt like very very precise to the craft and she speaks a lot through her eyes… it’s incredible to see her. There is so much pain in her eyes. It is how precise she can be and how much she can speak with her face without actually saying a word.”
Talking about Manoj Bajpaaye, Kaveri revealed, “Manoj Sir is a different institution only. It was incredible watching him. We spent a lot of time together with all of these actors for two months when we were in Delhi. You can see how much Manoj Sir loves his craft and how humble he is still. To explore, to learn. One thing definitely stands out as to how much work he puts into what he does even though we all know he is incredible. Every role he does is brilliant. But even after all these years, there is a lot of work that he puts into it. He also brings nuance and little moments of things or thoughts into what he does or into what makes his performance very interesting. There is a lot more he brings to that character from himself.”
Kaveri Seth also praised Simran Bagga who played her mother-in-law in the film. She shared, “Simran ma’am has been really exciting to watch because she is such a meticulous actor. She knows what she is doing so well that I would always be in awe while watching her because she just knows where the camera is what the scene is and she knows how to play with that. And when you are watching her, you are seeing all this movement, how she is going about it and when you are seeing that on screen, you feel like a whole other type of emotion. So she is quite fantastic and skilled.”
Kaveri Seth essayed Divya Batra in the family drama. While her on-screen rapport with Suraj Sharma was incredible, her character itself was layered. When asked how different Kaveri Seth is from Divya Batra and the quirks she brought to her character, the actress answered, “Kaveri shares some similarities with Divya but also lots of differences. The most obvious one being she is successful, accomplished, determined woman of the corporate job while I am remembered by my art. I have worked in the creative field with designers, photographers and actors. So that’s like a big difference. And what was exciting after the very first conversation with Rahul, that he was sure that woman is very accomplished, driven, successful young woman. But that was not something that he would try to very outwardly present.”
She further added, “In terms of quirks, there is one thing I definitely saw in Divya was that was very organised and particular. She carries herself. Little things like how she includes Reshma the cook into the gathering. That is something I found myself doing a lot in life. Every member in our family including our cook, our cleaner, these are people more often than not I end up comnecting with and bonding with. And that I something Divya also has. We only see the glimpses, you find it there.”
Recalling the big day when an intense revelation scene involving Manoj Bajpaaye, Sharmila Tagore, Amol Palekar and others was shot, Kaveri stated, “it was a very memorable day for me. It’s an intense scene and beautifully executed scene. I remember a couple of days before that, I asked Manoj Sir and others were asking him as well ‘Sir aap nervous ho? Itna intense scene aa raha’. He was like ‘theek hai you know saare scenes important hai. Tumlog bol ke nervous kar doge. Mein toh theek hu. Jo kaam karna hai, sab scenes ke liye utna hi karna hai’. This speaks a lot about him since he genuinely puts in that much of thought and work into every scene that he does. I remember being in that room and just watching everyone and watching Manoj Sir, watching Sharmila Ji. What I love about that scene, there is so much tension since he is rustling with papers, his hands are shaking. You see all of that and then you come to his face and it’s scary.”
“That’s why it works because there is so much contrast in the tension in his body and the pain that is there on his face which sorts of make it all the more real. I remember while watching it, I end up feeling people’s emotions as I think most actors do very deeply. I was just sitting there and it was stressing me out just watching it happen. Because it really felt we were witnessing this heartbreaking revelation. We were seeing the pain in Sharmila Ji’s eyes. Between every shot, I remember I was sitting in the back and there was some sort of obstruction between me and Sharmila Ji but she could kind of see me. My legs were shaking with all that tension. Between every cut, Sharmila Ji would say in a motherly tone ‘Kaveriiii’ just like mothers reprimand us when we shake our legs unnecessarily. Kyuki mujhe itne tension ho rahi thi ye dekhne mein. I was feeling very heavy,” she further recalled.
Kaveri Seth made her debut as a theater actor (lead role) in the US with Bay Area Drama Company. Also had played the lead role of Ratna in Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like A Man, and Jyoti (also lead) in Vijay Tendulkar’s Kanyadaan, both by Bay Area Drama Company. Sharing her thoughts on acting on stage vis a vis acting in front of camera, Kaveri explained, “I’ve done theatre. I am a theatre actor. But it was relatively brief. Because for most of my life, I’ve been a dancer. I started when I was seven years old and I danced for more like ten years. So stage is something that has been my home and loved. Having found myself love for acting, I started to explore and in that process I met with Mira Nair who was making Suitable Boys. Even in that series, I was Mira’s assistant. She put me in the film because that’s what Mira does. She sees something in people and she catches it and then she pushes you forward. That’s her quality. ”
Kaveri further emphasized, “But as soon as I really got committed to acting and the films, it’s been a couple of years of really learning. Because acting in front of the camera is very different. Having that experience of theatre and stage helped. But I had to learn other things because I haven’t gone to a school for it. After Suitable Boys, when I started giving auditions, how to adjust my craft according to the camera was also something that I had to learn gradually. Even the bad auditions aided in my learning. You spent months in theatre on a role or a character. To really sort of get into that. But in films and auditions, you only get two days to get into the skin of the characters and make it look convincing. That has taken time. It didn’t happen overnight. While I had gotten hints what casting directors wanted from actors but I couldn’t give them what they needed. Seekha tab yaha pohche hai.”
Gulmohar has also been fruitful for the young actress as she received a wholesome feedback from Mira Nair. Kaveri shared, “Mira has watched Gulmohar and she’s been very very kind. She is one of the reasons why I am here today. Both Mira and Rahul. They both gave me an opportunity. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t belong to this world. I have learnt a lot from Mira. Bohot daat khayi hai, bohot pyaar mila hai. So it’s been pretty incredible and she definitely was there like a rock all through Suitable Boys. I would end up standing and reading for actors in auditions. During that whole process, my love for this craft got solidified. And she saw that and she pushed me for it. She told me to give it a shot. But yeah, she has seen Gulmohar, she loved the film. Rahul is a very close associate of hers and after watching, jo final cut tha, she wrote me a really sweet message appreciating my performance and telling me she is proud and happy with what I was doing.”
Kaveri Seth has also transformed massively during the course of shooting for Gulmohar. When asked about some of the changes she went through, Kaveri answered, “The fact that this film was set in Delhi. I had never explored Delhi even when I hail from that place. So this film gave me a chance to do that. There were so many actors from Delhi. We saw so many places, met so many people, connected with them. All the people who came to see the screening saw the family but we found the family during shoot. And I honestly tried so many new things and exploring different parts of Delhi. Because I was meeting very different kinds of people. I have literally deeply changed something for life. As an actor, I could only attest to how much I have absorbed from everyone. It’s a fantastic ensemble. I’ve learnt to much and it’ll take some time to hit.”
Recalling the last day of shoot,Kaveri shared,”First of all, after the wrap, we all were not ready to go our separate ways. We had made up our mind that the bond we have made, usse jeevan bhar ke liye chodhna nahi hai. No matter where we go. Gulmohar made us fall in love with each other. Nobody was prepared to go back to their lives. Our last day of shoot was a really beautiful day because it was the day when Amrita(character) in the film, she sings and what you see in the film are the montages of me sitting on a bike. She is a very dear friend and a singer herself. And the song that she sings is absolutely beautiful. What we did was we were in Akshara theatre and all the cast and crew essentially were just sitting in the audience for that shot. It was beautiful onstage. Singing and crying and we were all watching and crying. It was just a perfect day to end the shoot on a collective note.”
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