Raveena Tandon's acting secret: Embracing new characters, breathing life into them

Mumbai, Sep 10 (IANS) Reflecting upon her Bollywood career, actress Raveena Tandon opened up about the time when heroines were more often typecast as mere love interests, and also revealed the secret about her craft.

In the weekend episode of 'India's Best Dancer 3', Raveena will grace the stage as a special guest. 

Judge of the dance reality show, Geeta Kapur asked Raveena about her daring choices during an era when heroines typically picked safe characters to play, saying, "Getting heroine-oriented roles back then usually meant sweet, beautiful characters that heroes would fall in love with. However, your portrayal in 'Aks' was different and much darker. I don't recall heroines often opting for such roles during that time." 

Revealing her perspective on the same, Raveena shared: “You are absolutely right, Geeta. During that era, heroines were apprehensive about being typecast, and we often found ourselves in roles portraying sweet, affluent father-daughter dynamics, often dancing to catchy tunes with ponytails.”

“I made a deliberate effort to take on films and songs which broke that mold. Whether it was 'Daman' which addressed a sensitive issue or 'Aks,' where I portrayed a completely negative character, and later the film 'Satta,' these projects were all divergent from the norm of the late '90s,” she said.

The ‘Aranyak’ fame actress said: “Interestingly, many of my songs, touchwood, became massive hits, sometimes overshadowing the depth of the roles we were tackling. Nonetheless, I believe I've not only survived but thrived in my career, reaching a luxurious peak today with projects like 'KGF 2' and others on the horizon.”

“My secret, I believe, lies in embracing new characters and breathing life into them - that's my craft. In our time, we earned the opportunity to choose such roles after having a substantial body of work, but nowadays, this trend has shifted to earlier stages. Back then, sweet roles and catchy songs were the norm, and stepping into unconventional roles felt like a daring choice,” Raveena shared.

The episode titled ‘Dance Diva Special’ will see the contestants leave no stone unturned to impress the stunning actress as they groove to some of her most iconic chartbusters. 

'India's Best Dancer 3' airs on Sony.