She
got
a
break
with
Ramanand
Sagar's
Ramayan
in
which
she
played
the
vital
role
of
Mandodari,
the
queen
consort
of
King
Ravana.
She
is
Aparajita
Bhushan.
The
actress
has
since
then
quit
acting
and
turned
writer,
and
lives
in
Pune
now.
But
her
real
introduction
is
that
she
is
the
daughter
of
the
renowned
film
actor
Bharat
Bhushan.
Aparajita
Bhushan
speaks
exclusively
to
FilmiBeat
about
her
journey
from
being
a
dubbing
artiste
to
an
actress
in
Ramayan,
and
her
father
in
the
last
years
of
his
life.
Excerpts
from
the
interview:
How
did
you
get
the
role
of
Mandodari
in
the
epic
television
show
Ramayan?
It
was
a
dream,
and
stepping
stone
for
me.
At
that
time
I
needed
work
and
it
was
the
best
opening
I
could
ever
get.
I
used
to
dub
for
Japanese
and
Chinese
films
in
Hindi
and
English.
I
was
called
to
Ramanand
Sagar's
home
to
dub
for
some
other
character
in
Ramayan,
and
that
is
how
I
met
the
makers
for
the
first
time.
This
is
the
story
behind
me
getting
to
play
Mandodari.
I
knew
nothing
about
acting,
but
I
must
say,
the
way
Ramanand
Sagar
handled
me
and
taught
me,
there
was
no
looking
back
for
me
after
that.
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Wasn't
your
mother
also
a
dubbing
artiste?
You
are
talking
about
Ratna
Bhushan.
She
was
my
second
mom
and
was
a
dubbing
artiste.
In
fact,
she
got
me
dubbing
work
and
that
is
how
I
got
Ramayan,
too.
I
am
really
happy
that
Ramayan
has
been
re-telecast
on
Doordarshan
in
the
(COVID-19)
lockdown
and
we
are
reliving
those
glorious
days.
My
phone
has
not
stopped
ringing
since
then.
I
am
so
proud
that
I
was
part
of
that
epic
on
Indian
TV!
There
were
reports
about
your
father
Bharat
Bhushan's
financial
status
and
travelling
by
bus
in
the
last
years
of
his
life.
Why
didn't
you
clarify
them?
Of
course,
there
were
financial
issues
and
my
father
was
too
reserved
a
person
to
go
and
ask
for
work.
But
he
would
gracefully
accept
the
work
people
offered
him.
Besides,
he
knew
he
had
to
work.
I
was
married
and
staying
separately
with
my
children
in
Lokhandwala.
I
could
not
reach
out
to
the
film
industry
for
him.
Ab
bolne
ka
waqt
mila
toh
I
am
clarifying
and
this
return
of
Ramayan
has
given
me
the
opportunity
to
clarify
the
misreports
about
my
father
working
as
a
watchman
and
travelling
my
bus.
I
don't
think
he
ever
travelled
by
bus!
He
often
took
a
taxi
to
work
and
in
case
he
got
late
he
would
come
home
by
rickshaw.
There
were
bad
reports
around
his
death,
too?
My
father
had
a
very
dignified
death.
Contrary
to
the
reports,
he
lived
in
a
four-bed
room
house
in
Malad
(Mumbai)
and
that
is
where
he
suffered
a
heart
attack
in
1992.
I
was
at
Lokhandwala
and
by
the
time
I
could
reach,
he
had
passed
away.
But
I
remember
meeting
the
media
there,
about
40
people
were
there
for
his
cremation.
For
those
who
don't
know,
my
father
Bharat
Bhushan
owned
three
bungalows
-
one
in
Pali
Hill,
the
second
one
at
Santacruz
(both
in
Mumbai)
and
the
third
one
in
Pune.
The
Pali
Hill
bungalow
was
one
of
its
kind
in
those
days.
It
had
three
gardens.
It
was
later
bought
by
actor
Jeetendra
from
my
father.
I
really
did
not
inherit
anything
of
my
father's
belongings.
I
asked
for
the
books
but
I
didn't
get
them.
I
dont
want
to
talk
about
it,
as
it
is
an
altogether
different
story.
Like
my
father,
meri
bhi
jaan
unn
kitabon
mein
thi
(I
loved
those
books).
I
have
inherited
my
father's
principles,
and
his
love
for
reading
and
music.
I
really
don't
know
what
happened
to
the
books.
I
requested
Ratna
ji
to
give
them
to
me,
but
she
refused.
Maybe
she
wanted
to
keep
them
as
a
memory
but
later
all
the
books
were
gone,
which
hurt
me
even
more.
There
were
some
rare
books
and
it
hurts
even
more
to
hear
that
one
of
the
books
on
Mirza
Ghalib,
which
was
from
my
father's
collection,
was
being
sold
outside
Churchgate
station
in
Mumbai.
This
was
informed
to
me
by
a
relative
of
mine.
You
should
also
know
that
my
father
played
Mirza
Ghalib
in
Sohrab
Modi's
film
of
the
same
name.
They
had
watched
the
film
with
Pandit
Jawaharlal
Nehru
and
actress
Suraiya,
which
was
a
big
honour.
That
book
which
had
his
initials
was
being
sold
outside
a
railway
station
in
Mumbai!
Was
Bharat
Bhushan
short
of
work
towards
the
end?
There
were
times
when
there
was
no
shooting
for
two
months
but
my
father
never
got
angry
or
complained
about
it.
He
was
always
calm.
The
only
thing
he
would
feel
bad
for
was
my
sister
Anuradha
who
was
a
paraplegic.
He
would
tell
me
that
he
wished
she
passed
away
before
he
left
this
world.
He
also
knew
he
had
to
work
for
my
sister
and
had
to
run
the
house.
Did
Ratna
Bhushan
really
not
care
about
your
sister
and
you?
There
was
interaction
when
I
was
there,
but
after
my
father
passed
away,
not
much.
But
I
have
to
give
it
to
her
that
she
stood
by
him
till
the
very
end
and
the
two
were
happy
together.
Your
father
didn't
save
any
money,
they
say.
Is
there
anyone
from
the
film
industry
who
kept
in
touch
with
him
till
the
end?
I
will
just
say
to
people
to
be
careful
with
what
we
have.
My
father
never
learnt
to
save.
And
to
answer
the
second
part
of
the
question
-
people
came
to
our
house
till
we
had
the
bungalow
and
would
come
and
stay
with
us
for
weeks.
My
father
also
would've
never
imagined
he
would
lose
all
this,
unhone
socha
nahi
hoga
ke
sab
chala
jayega.
Once
we
lost
everything,
people
stopped
coming
to
meet
him.