Rupali Ganguly was in no hurry to make a comeback on the tube till she was offered Rajan Shahi and Deepa Shahi’s Anupamaa. Impressed by the storyline and her character, she decided to end her seven-year-long hiatus. Happy to have made the right choice, the actor is enjoying all the love and appreciation being showered on the show.
“Anupamaa is a show about every mother, every woman who invests all her time into her family. Most of us have grown up in families like this, where the fathers went out and provided for us and our mothers took care of home and hearth and brought us up. So, the values, the rules, the discipline and the goodness that we all survive in today’s world are basically because of our mothers,” she says.
Rupali shares that Anupamaa is about every woman because they do so much for the home, their family yet they are mostly under-appreciated especially in the rural areas.
“Women are almost never given their due. People have days off, but homemakers don’t. Even if they are not well or anything happens, they do not get off. So, this show is about all those women. Perhaps this show is resonating well with families because now they have started noticing about the very special woman in their lives, be it the mother, sister or wife. You can find a Anupamaa in every house. The show started off as a docile character who slowly decides to take to the path of becoming a strong independent woman,” she adds.
Rupali praises the writers and Rajan Shahi for choosing such a story and the way the plot has been well-etched. “As far as acting is concerned, there is no challenge. The only thing that I take care of is not to look ostentatious with the makeup and everything. The challenge therefore is being 40 plus and going in front of the camera without make up that too on television which is known for those perfect sarees, jewellery, makeup and hairdos,” she adds.
Talking about the success of Anupamaa, Rupali adds, “This serial means a lot to me… I’ve been in the TV industry for the past 20 years. I have done films as well. I started at the age, so it’s been 38 years of career and 20 years of sheer hard work. Anupamaa has finally given me what was due. People have started to take notice of my talent again. I cannot thank Rajan Shahi enough for giving me this opportunity and even Star Plus, which has been my luckiest channel. My family feels so proud of me, my mother cannot stop watching the repeat telecast of Anupamaa. My husband, because of whom I am doing this show, has taken this responsibility of taking care of our family when I am at work. This is a kind of show which reminds me of the kinds of films that my day (Anil Ganguly; director-screenwriter) used to make… So I feel overwhelmed, validated, grateful, blessed and happy,” she says.
Happy with how her life and career has shaped up, Rupali shares that her life is based on everything that she learnt from her father.“My work ethics have been inculcated by him. He always said ‘The biggest emotion which we feel is gratitude. If we feel it forever, we will never look back’. I feel grateful to God for giving me this wonderful opportunity to finally prove myself as an actor. There are so many talented people out there but because of the lack of the correct opportunity, they perhaps never get the chance to show their potential or to achieve their true potential. But I have got this blessed opportunity called Anupamaa. My husband has also been a pillar of strength” she signs off.
