Latest news with #SushmaSeth
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Dadi' of Indian screens: Sushma Seth reflects on a career playing the matriarch in shows and movies
It almost felt like a prophecy for a 13-something Sushma Seth to essay the role of a "Haryanvi old biddy" in a play written by her uncle, Maheshwar Dayal as the role would foreshadow her future as one of the most beloved Dadis of Indian screens, in both television and cinema. Seth, who has been a regular on TV screens, theatre, and cinema - mostly in a matronly role since her debut in "Junoon" (1978) as Shashi Kapoor's aunt, remembered playing a 75-year-old nawab in another production by Dayal. "In one of the plays, I played a Haryanvi old biddy, and she ruled her household and was called Tai. It was very similar to what I did in 'Hum Log'. That was my first play. "In another one, I played a 75 year old Nawab sahab. There was no beard but I wore a topee and an achkan and churidar and I spoke like an old nawab sahab," the 89-year-old said at a session at India Habitat Centre on Friday. As she acted professionally in plays after growing up, it became destiny for her to play roles of elderly women, something that she took in her stride by adding her "own shades" to the characters. By the end of the shoot of "Junoon", which was directed by late filmmaker Shyam Benegal, Seth received offers from Raj Kapoor for "Prem Rog", Yash Chopra for "Silsila", and Benegal for "Kalyug", all the roles of women in their senior years. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas Prices In Dubai Might Be More Affordable Than You Think Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Quote Undo "So for my own self I would give them a couple of shades depending on how their children behaved. If it were an indulgent mother or a mother who had a wayward son like Sanjay Dutt in his first film ('Rocky'). "He was a spoiled brat and I felt he was spoiled because his mother didn't take care of him and put him on the right path. So I had to be a little uncertain of how I should treat the child or be indulgent or overpampering him or overlooking all his faults," the veteran actor said. Seth added that the shades made her characters feel different, even when they looked similar in the script. "That way for my own self I would give different shades to the character depending on the children whose parent I played. And hoped to god that audience also saw that little bit of difference," she said. Even though Seth first appeared on the silver screen, it was her role as "Dadi" in family drama "Hum Log" (1984) on Doordarshan that immortalised her. Directed by P Kumar Vasudev, "Hum Log" followed the struggles and aspirations of a middle-class family. In her late 40s at the time, Seth was not an ideal candidate to play the role of the matriarch but the "spoiled brat" of a character felt too irresistible to her. "Kumar told me I was too young to play dadi. I said, just give me the script and we will see. When I read the script, I felt this is the only character I want to do. I just loved the dadi of 'Hum Log'. She was a spoiled brat, indulgent by her husband and her son, and she ill treated her daughter in law and pampered one daughter and didn't pamper the uglier one. "She was a typical character and I loved doing that character that one could go to town with such a character which you can't do otherwise," she said. With limited resources in makeup and dresses, Seth improvised using her mother's old clothes, a wig from Mumbai and an inimitable accent. 62-year-old actress Rita Bhaduri is no more "I ordered a wig from Bombay, I pulled out old jumpers from my mother's trunk that they used to wear in the 1920s and for wedding scenes I pulled out those old sarees of that time. And for the first day's shoot I did my own makeup, I put the dress with that seedha palla and I said, 'Ab batao, kahan baithna hai, ka karna hai?'" she recalled with an accent that became unique to her role. Seth, whose last commercial role was in "Kal Ho Na Ho" as Preity Zinta's grandmother, currently works with NGO Arpana, directing plays and dance dramas with children.
New Indian Express
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Sushma Seth: Never the Garden Variety
Long before she became a household name with India's first soap opera, Hum Log, Sushma Seth was a young girl staging plays in her garden, casting her siblings, directing them, and performing for family and neighbours. Having grown up in a joint family in the capital city, the veteran actor remembers collecting props from home, and staging small plays with the assistance of older family members. 'I always loved acting and music,' Seth adds. Soon enough, the young girl's talent was noticed—her uncle, Maheshwar Dayal, wrote two plays for her. One of them was performed on the Regal cinema's stage. A scholarship eventually took Seth to Briarcliffe College in New York, where she studied drama. Seth was ecstatic that the course included acting, direction, stagecraft, voice training, set and costume design. She was cast in all the important roles, was president of the student council, and crowned May Queen. The Dean raised a scholarship for Sushma to transfer to Carnegie Mellon University, one of the top drama schools in the US, where she also performed and toured with a children's theatre company. 'After four years, I returned to India. And within a fortnight, I was offered a play,' she tells TMS. That first play was Rustom Sohrab, directed by the renowned theatre exponent Habib Tanvir. 'The production was excellent with stylised costumes, music, and powerful performances,' she says. After that, she was offered roles in plays directed by other stalwarts such as Joy Michael, Inderlal Dass, Sai Paranjpye, and Rajindernath, in English, Hindi and Urdu.
India.com
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet actress, who made debut at 42, acted in over 100 films, worked with Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor, yet failed to become a star, her name is…, last film was…
Many actresses, even after delivering significant hits in the industry, struggle to become leading heroines and remain confined to roles of mothers and sisters. An actress who began her career at 42 did not become a leading heroine, even after delivering successful films with superstars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor, and others. Veteran Actress Of Bollywood… The actress we are talking about is veteran actress Sushma Seth , who has appeared in more than 120 films and is widely recognized for her portrayals of stern mother-in-laws and grandmothers, or caring mothers. Her daughter is an actress too, who is Shah Rukh Khan 's closest friend. At the age of 42, Sushma Seth debuted in Bollywood with the film Junoon , portraying Shashi Kapoor' s aunt. Sushma Seth portrayed the mother and grandmother of several Bollywood stars, such as Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, and Preity Zinta . She has featured in numerous Bollywood successes and blockbusters such as Silsila, Prem Rog, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Chandni, Deewana, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and Kal Ho Naa Ho . Nonetheless, in spite of this, she did not achieve the status of a leading actress. Sushma's most recent appearance was in the film Noor, and she is currently involved with an NGO named Arpana , where she directs plays and dance performances. Recently, she has earned the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contribution to theatre and stage plays. Divya Seth , her daughter, is a well-known television actress and Shah Rukh Khan's 'closest friend'. The Bond Between Divya and SRK Shah Rukh Khan once posted a picture with her on Twitter, referring to her as his 'bestest friend' and stating, 'Divya, my bestest friend, who taught me how to act.' 'Don't keep the negative traits I possess, just the positive ones influenced by her guidance.' Divya and Shah Rukh Khan have been friends since their days in acting school. They trained together at Barry John acting classes and both began in Lekh Tandon's show Dil Darya .
