Latest news with #FourYearsLater
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
‘Four Years Later' actor Akshay Ajit: Love teaches you how to deal with your own vulnerabilities
The romanticized version of love sometimes talks about big fantasies, happily ever after, but doesn't highlight the effort that goes behind building and maintaining a relationship. However, the latest OTT project, ' Four Years Later ', sheds light on almost every aspect of love. It talks about its beauty, the not-so-subtle sacrifices, and the mountain of work that goes behind it. And when we sat with 'Four Years Later' actor Akshay Ajit on the topic of love, he had a wholesome response. 'Love is one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world. It teaches you so many things. It teaches you patience, perseverance, how to deal with yourself, how to deal with your own vulnerabilities, how to show up fully as yourself,' said Akshay Ajit in his exclusive conversation with ETimes. 'So it's so many beautiful encompassing things and just this one beautiful little word called love,' he mentioned with a smile. In 'Four Years Later,' Akshay's character moves away from his wife right after they get married. Their so-called honeymoon period, the time when a couple gets the window to truly know one another, isn't granted to them, as Akshay had to travel for work. The entire series is about the couple finding their relationship amid the chaos of long-distance. When we asked Akshay what it takes for a long-distance relationship to work, he said, 'I think for me, it has to be radical accountability for yourself and your emotions.' He continued, 'A lot of times, I feel like relationships are mirrors. When you're getting triggered, you need to understand whether there is something within you that needs to be worked upon, rather than putting it on your partner.' He said this applies to all kinds of relationships. 'Whether it be long distance or whether it be cohabitation, whether it be living together or marriage, most relationships are like mirrors, and they provide a great way for us to grow and learn. The more accountability we take in a relationship, the healthier individuals we become, and we show up in a fuller, happier, and more authentic way.' 'If you can create that safe space not only for yourself but also for your partner, I think that's a beautiful relationship to have,' concluded the actor.
India Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Shahana Goswami's 'Four Years Later'
In a career spanning two decades, Shahana Goswami has been a part of only two stories that had romance at the centre of them. The first was Ru-Ba-Ru (2008), and the second is Four Years Later, an eight-part Indo-Australian series created by Mithila Gupta. Co-starring Akshay Ajit Singh, the show revolves around a newly-wed couple forced to live apart as the husband moves to Sydney while the wife continues to live in India. 'The portrayal of their lives felt very real. The kinds of issues in their relationship were nuanced and mature. It isn't just typical male-bashing or gender normative issues between couples,' says Goswami. Shot in Mumbai and Jaipur before moving to Sydney, the show uses both English and Hindi. 'It was so refreshing to have Indian characters in the lead who spoke in their natural accents.'
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First Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
'Four Years Later' actress Shahana Goswami: 'Today, people live in long distance relationship by choice...'
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Shahana spoke about preparing for her character, the similarities between her and Sridevi, and the evolution of love over the years read more Newlyweds Sridevi and Yash marry in India, but are forced to spend four years apart when he moves to Australia for a medical traineeship; finally reunited in Australia, they try to come to terms with all that's happened in the intervening years- This is the crux of Shahana Goswami and Akshay Ajit Singh's show Four Years Later. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Shahana spoke about preparing for her character, the similarities between her and Sridevi, and the evolution of love over the years. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Edited excerpts from the interview How did you prepare for your character Sridevi in Four Years Later? I didn't have to do much preparation in terms of I think, Sridevi is a very spontaneous, natural character in, many ways and also very close to my personality in a sense. So there was relatively less prep in that sense. Prep for any project, otherwise, is the basics of going through the script with the with the writers, directors, with your co actor, and kind of looking at the nuances in the scene, the different emotions, the feel. So more just a kind of dialogue and discussion and building, based on whatever instincts show up in that moment. What are the similarities between you and your character? Her zest for life, her curiosity for life, her ability to engage with people, her adaptability into new spaces, her desire to not kind of be by the book when it comes to who she is and how she is. But she also has a kind of softness to her, a kind of warmth to her. So I would say these are the things that are similar, to my character. How much do you feel the definition of love has changed or evolved over the years? In some sense, it has remained the same and, in other sense, constantly shifting and evolving and changing as we as human beings are changing. And so, definitely, over the years, I think there's been a larger focus, in a healthy way towards the self in terms of people, you know, focusing a little bit more on their own individual growth, their own individual needs, their journeys, and looking at relationships, not just as a means to completing oneself, fulfilling a void, but kind of walking alongside, another. And I think over time, because of this sense of individuality that has grown, across society, across people, it has also made people revisit, what a relationship looks like. Today, people live in long distance relationship by choice, and they make it work in whatever way they can. At the same time, I also do feel that sometimes that individual streak ends up creating more distance and creating a sense of not wanting to compromise, which is an essential part of any relating between two people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even in friendships, even in family relationships, there is a level of compromise or coming together or meeting halfway that needs to be there. And I feel like sometimes maybe that aspect, gets overlooked in the attempt to want to assert one's own individuality. What was the joy and the challenge to play this character in Four Years Later? I mean, the joy was, for me, I suppose, being able to express the side of my personality that I don't get a chance to do as often. I think most of my films, the characters that I've played are very serious, very hard hitting, and very often, I don't even get an opportunity to smile or laugh as much. It's a love story and to be able to play out that romantic aspect, which also I don't get much of an opportunity to do.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shahana Goswami Embraces Polyamory: Love is Open and Free
Actress 's recent romantic drama Four Years Later may explore love the old-fashioned way, but her personal life couldn't be more modern. 'For me love is open and free flowing. I have people in my life, but it's not a conventional setup. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now I am polyamorous. So, I do have partners, I have lovers. So, in a sense I am also single because there could be more. But I'm not really single in that sense. I do have committed relationships with people as well,' she confesses. Coming out publicly about her polyamorous identity, she says, was second nature. 'I speak about everything. I think it's important to speak about one's life. I don't feel any need to hide anything really. My family and I have always been very honest, open, and sharing. I've been the same with my friends. I understand that people have ideas of privacy that come from protecting parts of themselves. But I'm okay to not have someone understand. I'm not asking somebody to be like me. I'm only expressing who I am.' A recent podcast clip where she opened up about her romantic life sparked mixed reactions online—supportive on one hand, critical on the other. Shahana, however, remains unshaken. 'I was very amazed that there were so many people that were supportive or understanding of it. The more I show up being myself, owning who I am without feeling the need for people to understand it, but feeling the need to be able to express myself,' she states.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Shahana Goswami interview: On modern love, diasporic identity and Zohran Mamdani
Over two decades, Shahana Goswami has worked across genres, continents, and formats. In her latest series, Four Years Later, she plays Sridevi or 'Sri' — a woman pulled between cities, relationships, and versions of herself. Created by Mithila Gupta, the Australian-Indian drama is set between Jaipur and Sydney, tracing what happens to love when time and distance take hold. Last year, Santosh brought Shahana to Cannes. Now, this is the next step. 'I was approached by Dilip Shankar, who is the casting director of the show,' she tells me over a Zoom call. 'And funnily enough, I had actually heard about the project through a friend of mine, Richie Mehta, who had also heard about it. I remember him saying, 'Oh, you would be great for the part.' And then I forgot about it.' She chuckles. 'And then Dilip came to me with this project, and it happened to be the same one.' When the script came back to her, it felt serendipitous, but was still tinged with hesitation. 'Initially, I wasn't even sure if I was right for it,' she admits. 'The character was meant to be much younger than me. But I had one day off in the middle of shooting Santosh, locked myself in a room, and taped four scenes. There was a realness in the emotion and in the way the couple spoke, which wasn't the usual 'tu-tu-main-main' kind of dynamic.' Shahana's portrayal of Sri feels strikingly personal, and what drew her in, she says, was the truth of the character. 'She's a lot like me in terms of her persona and personality,' she says. 'And I get very little opportunity to actually play that out. The only other time I really felt I could do that was in Tu Hai Mera Sunday.' The role also marked a rare first: 'Suddenly at the age of like 37-38, I was getting an opportunity to be in a romantic series for the first time in my life.' In playing out that romance, Shahana found herself reflecting on her own ideas of modern relationships. 'It was interesting for me to see that the characters meet through an arranged marriage. She's kind of a diehard romantic, but she's still open to the idea of meeting a partner through an arranged setup. If she's failed at finding the person by herself, then why not try other means?' That openness feels emblematic of a broader shift she's observed, both personally and culturally. 'Over time, I've generally been more open, not for myself but in general, to the idea of arranged marriage that I would earlier have maybe judged. I've learned and seen through people's experiences around me that, in a sense, it is no different from a dating app.' She speaks too, of letting go of older binaries: 'The whole thing of opposites attract is also something that I've not been much of a believer in. I now understand that it's not so much opposites as much as it is complementary personality types that attract. Not looking at every difference as a kind of cog in the wheel, but as something that actually makes you more compatible.' Shot across Jaipur and Sydney, the shift in setting shaped her performance. Having never been to Sydney before the shoot, Shahana describes filming there as a kind of emotional osmosis. 'You do kind of see Sri experience Sydney in real time with you,' she explains. 'There was a sense of awe and opening up. I had been to Melbourne before, but Sydney was new, and that newness seeps into her journey.' Even the act of speaking — switching between Hindi and English and modulating accents — changed across borders. 'Code switching is very common, even within parts of India, when you move from one space to another. I was born and raised in South Delhi, but when I moved to Bombay, my Hindi and English changed.' That porousness of place, language and identity feeds into the show's portrait of migration. Sri coming to Australia became a kind of unexpected reunion with herself. 'If I had to play Yash (played by Akshay Ajit Singh), it would be much harder for me because I'm very adaptable and open as a person, and thrive with travel and new experiences,' she says. When asked about the rise of diasporic South Asian storytelling, she remarks on how the series seems like the first of its kind. 'This kind of show has never actually happened before,' she says. 'Two Indians in the lead, speaking in their own accent in English. Usually, either the character is native to that country, or they adopt the accent of the country. But this is our reality. English with sputterings of Hindi. It's how many of us live. And yet we rarely see it on screen.' And it's not something she looked to past diasporic films to model. 'I don't think that I'm someone who ever leans into other experiences because each story and each narrative is so different. What was useful was my own lived experience and that of people around me who are similar and from this milieu.' Zohran Mamdani's historic election as New York City's new mayor — and the fact that he's diasporic stalwart Mira Nair's son — was hard not to bring up in conversation. But his win played out against a troubling rise in anti-immigrant sentiments across the United States and elsewhere. Shahana reflects on the role of art in that fight, saying, 'I do think that art reflects life and oftentimes art influences life,' she says. 'Part of the reason why Zohran was successful was perhaps because we're living in a time of unbelievable polarisation where the other extreme is so strong. Sometimes you do need an extreme to combat an extreme.' Still, she believes in the role of art in shaping possibility. 'This is a beautiful way in which the city [New York] has shown its solidarity in wanting a different kind of society and community and future.' Does she see herself as part of this growing global wave of South Asian storytelling? 'I hope so,' she says. 'Every drop in the ocean matters. You're seeing more brown people on screen without needing to explain their presence. Films like Santosh or All We Imagine As Light — by Indians and for Indians — travel far. But that doesn't necessarily mean that just because you're brown, you should only be telling brown stories.' And though mainstream Indian cinema has a way to go, Shahana also seems optimistic about the progress made in the industry's blind spots. 'The narratives are changing. The roles are more nuanced, not just for women, but for men too. There's much more focus on the male vulnerability or the fact that men are also victims of patriarchy.' Even her dreams are articulated with a giddy precision. 'Denis Villeneuve is on top of my list because I've loved all his films. I think that he has this beautiful balance of being able to do something on a very large scale, but with deep emotion and great cinematic value,' she says. 'Arrival is my favourite. I keep manifesting that I'll be in Dune 3, because that universe includes everyone from different parts of the world.' And if Villeneuve doesn't call? 'Pedro Almodóvar,' she says without missing a beat. 'I thought it would never happen because when would I ever learn Spanish? But now he's making English films. So maybe. Just maybe.' Four Years Later is currently available to stream on Lionsgate Play
