Urmila Matondkar Says Critics Dismissed Her Acting In Rangeela As Sex Appeal

Urmila Matondkar who started her career as a child actor, went on to give hit releases like Rangeela, Judaai, Satya, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and more. The actress recently revealed that she was not rightfully credited for the successful films. In a recent interview, Urmila said her performance in Rangeela was dismissed as 'sex appeal' while Aamir Khan and Jackie Shroff were praised for their roles.

Urmila said, "Post Rangeela, people said that everything I did was about sex appeal and nothing to do with acting. How can the song, Hai Rama, happen without a person being a performer?" The actress added that even looking sexy requires acting.

"Is doing a tear-jerking scene only acting? Appearing sexy also demands acting. I was not playing Miss Nothing in the film. My character of the girl-next-door transforms through each song of the film, which the critics didn't understand," she told Times of India.

Urmila recalled the critics' reaction to the film on release and revealed that despite its success, many wrote nasty things about her role. She said that her clothes, hair and makeup were praised and credited but not her performance.

"Girls who gave 13 flops, girls who were said to look like 'boys' with nothing woman-like about them, girls who did double meaning songs with heroes... were considered actors. But for me, being in front of the camera was a spiritual experience. To have Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar sing for me was by itself a victory. I didn't need awards," she told the portal.

While Urmila hasn't returned to the big screen as a leading lady in a while, she was last seen in a special song 'Bewafa Beauty' in Irrfan Khan and Kirti Kulhari's film Blackmail. Apart from working onscreen, Urmila joined the Indian National Congress Party in 2019 as a member. Back in December 2020, she joined Shiv Sena in presence of party president Uddhav Thackeray.