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Exclusive Interview! Trupti Khamkar: My Loyalties Are Completely Towards Acting
In this world of OTT platforms, many regional actors are getting opportunities to showcase their abundant talent through web shows. During this pandemic, we have seen many web series, where many character artists managed to grab viewers' attention with their performances. Talking about Marathi stand-up comedian turned actress Trupti Khamkar, she left everyone speechless with her powerful role in the ALTBalaji web show, Girgit. Moreover, her portrayal of a domestic help in Zombivli is also being appreciated by cine-goers.
Recently, Filmibeat had a candid interaction with the supremely talented actress Trupti Khamkar, where she spoke about her career, quality of Marathi cinema, upcoming projects and much more. Excerpts-
Being an actor, stand-up comedian, and content creator, how do you balance your time?
First and foremost, I believe I am an actor and the rest comes after that for me. This is what I keep telling myself because my loyalties are completely towards acting. I am also very committed towards my audiences and hence stand-up comedy comes like a close second. It's always difficult to squeeze in a live show in between shoots, because the shoot dates and times are sometimes very erratic. Sometimes, it also happens that when I have a show which is lined up and on the very day, I get an ad film which is going to pay me a lot of money. Choosing what to do becomes difficult as I also have to sustain myself and comedy shows don't pay you a lot of money unless you are Zakir Khan. You rather have to spend a lot of money to travel to the venue and eat at the venue and so on.
Paying bills is another necessity when you are living in Mumbai. It is a little heartbreaking but it is difficult to balance between the two that way. As a content creator, I don't feel there can be any balance. After all, if you are a content creator then you are constantly thinking because you bring out things from your life. It's never like I will be seated in a place for 2 hours then I will be creating content. It is easier when you are constantly 24x7 thinking about what kind of content you would like to create.
You are always getting raw material from your normal life and I am not very meticulous and religious about making content every day. Content comes only when I am not shooting and I am at home. I have a small notebook where I keep on writing things whenever I have free time and open a window where I can create content. So that balance is fantastic. But live shows and shoots for an actor are crazy, and I haven't found the balance yet.
Your latest film Zombivli received positive response from the masses. Especially, your character is being loved by all. Do you think the Marathi industry is evolving with new generation artists and quality of cinema?
I would like to say a big thank you to everybody who has watched and liked Zombivli. Thank you so much for liking my character 'Malti'. Earlier, I would keep complaining about why do people give me Kaamwali Bai roles, but now I feel blessed with the skill of playing a character that is so nice, so ordinary and bringing out the fun in that character.
I think that the Marathi industry is evolving with new generation artists and the quality of cinema is getting better. Even the audiences are getting exposure and are watching a lot of interesting films due to the boon of OTT. Thanks to the unfortunate pandemic, people watched things that they have never watched. Hence, they are openly accepting newer genres and stories. So, I think Zombivli is the first-ever Marathi Zombie film, which was received with great love and super enthusiasm. We have never tried something like this in Marathi before and that is the biggest example of how new-age filmmakers are thinking out of the box and getting out of a typical love story and focussing on content, which is why good films are coming out of Marathi Film Industry.
Directors are not scared of experimenting anymore. Recently, there was this one film that was called, Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha which for me was a breakout film. I think such films are making the industry stand out. Another film is Jhimma, a story about females who get out of their comfort zones. This is fantastic that people are thinking not just in Marathi but what people across will like.
You played the role of a lesbian in the ALTBalaji web series, Girgit. How was it playing the character Mahi? Was it difficult?
Yes, I did play a lesbian in Girgit. She is called Mahi. She was not just a lesbian but also was a sociopath. There are a lot of layers in her character, so being a lesbian was not the only thing for her character. She would go to any length for her love, even to the extent of killing someone who comes in her way, basically, she was obsessed with love more than what gender she was attracted to. When I was offered the part, I didn't think of it as a lesbian character but thought of it as a chance to show my acting skills. The way my character graph was made, it was very challenging and interesting at the same time.
I was blessed to do a little bit of my part in accepting the fact that anyone who falls in love is love. It has nothing to do with who you are or what you are identified as. More than that it was joyful. It was my pleasure to play a lesbian part.
Since you have been a part of Bollywood, Hollywood, Marathi films, theatre and OTT. Which is the medium do you like the most and why?
I have done everything in bits and pieces, here and there. You can't tell which medium is my favourite. Every medium is my favourite because I get to act and my audience gets to watch me. Thankfully, they like me for what I do. But if you still ask me to pick then I think theatre is my first love or live audience is my first love because it's an immediate receipt of what you have done, and if they like you or not. It's straight-up, there is no editor, there is no music composer, no voice-over artist who is going to tweak your performance. You are not going to get cut. It's there and it's real in front of you and my close second is Hollywood only because of their discipline and passion for their techniques, their respect for everybody who has any kind of job on the floor. It is one thing we should all learn and respect. As a country, we don't support art or films much. It comes as the last priority which is unfortunate.
Tell us about your upcoming projects
I have an interesting line-up of work. There is a film that I am looking forward to- Govinda Naam Mera which is already filmed and it is produced by Dharma Productions. Shashank Khaitan is the director of the film and it stars Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal, Kiara Advani, Viraj Ghelani, Amey Wagh, Aseem Hattangadi and Renuka Shahane. It's scheduled to release on June 10 and I am excited for that. Apart from that, I am currently writing 1 hour of my stand-up comedy which will come out soon. I am waiting for some fantastic roles which can come my way.
