Many happy returns: Four Bollywood stars discuss their comeback roles
What does it take to make a comeback in Bollywood? When you’re older but also wiser. Four actors who popped up on screen after long spells fill us in
“It’s all in there. Find it. Dig it out.” That’s one of the lines Harman Baweja delivers as JCP Harshvardhan Shroff in the Netflix series Scoop (2023). The 42-year-old actor, who started out as a hero and then disappeared, certainly dug deep to rediscover his acting skills in the 2023 crime drama. It won praise from critics and Anurag Kashyap, who called his performance a “breakout”.
The film media loves comebacks. They’ll spotlight anyone who’s been away for a few years and has decided to return. Some performers find it irksome -- surely no one should be working all the time. Others take advantage of streaming network opportunities to shine in ways they couldn’t before.
Sharmila Tagore surprised audiences as a matriarch who confessed to having an affair with a woman in Gulmohar (2023). Chandrachur Singh played Sushmita Sen’s husband Tej Sareen in the crime thriller Aarya (2020-). Bhagyashree has played supporting roles in Thalaivii (2021) and Radhe Shyam (2022). See how the journey back has played out.
Harman Baweja
Last big role: Dishkiyaoon (2014). Returned with: Scoop (2023)
With film director Harry Baweja and producer Pammi Baweja for parents, Harman Baweja would have found it easy to stay behind the scenes. But he wanted to act, and made his debut in Love Story 2050 (2008), which bombed. It took 15 years for Baweja to deliver a standout performance as the sleazy cop JCP Shroff in Scoop.
Scoop’s director Hansal Mehta urged him on, Baweja says. “I told him I wasn’t in the space. I agreed to an audition because I didn’t want them to be stuck on set with me, slapping their foreheads for picking me in the first place,” he says. Baweja admitted to being nervous about his performance. “This was far from any role I did before. Being memorable wasn’t the focus,” he says.
Baweja’s comeback has had a slow reception. Many viewers simply didn’t recognise him. His sister’s friend had to google it to believe it, he says. “People were congratulating me during my dad’s 70th birthday celebrations,” Baweja recalls. “That was the perfect gift for him.”
Looking older didn’t bother him. “I’ve got to be honest to myself and the character I am playing,” says Baweja.He knew the reason he needed to “come back” was because it didn’t work out the first time round. This time. he’s not trapped playing a romantic lead. “This lets actors explore the craft and enables nuanced performances,” says Baweja.
The long wait has made him patient about new roles. “I’ve hung around for a decade and I don’t mind waiting longer to find out what’s next.”
Sharmila Tagore
Last big role: Break Ke Baad (2010). Returned with: Gulmohar (2023)
Sharmila Tagore, 78, dislikes calling her performance in Gulmohar (2023) a comeback. “I was looking for a role that was different, A character that spoke to me. Something age-appropriate, not a stereotypical mother/bhabhi,” she says. In Virrudh... Family Comes First (2005), she loved playing Sumitra, a mother forced re-examine her faith in humanity after the murder of her only son. The storyline of Gulmohar, she found, reflected present day concerns but also addressed a timeless theme: Family property and the relationship shifts in a multi-generational family. Her character also reveals that she has had an affair with a woman.
Tagore’s story is well known. She debuted at age 14 in Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar (1959), and made her Hindi debut with Kashmir Ki Kali (1964). She married Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, had children and took intermittent breaks from acting. After her husband passed away in 2011, Tagore took over her husband’s responsibilities, overseeing the family trust, and supporting acid-attack survivors and victims of domestic violence. There was simply no time to think of anything else.
“There comes a time when everything is finally settled and one thinks: Why can’t I do what I want to do?” she says. New roles being written for older women were a draw too. “I love how professional the setup is,” she says. “Earlier, all the actors except Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor would come late, while everyone on set waited for them. The set is a lot calmer, no unnecessary chatter and no loud instructions, thanks to walkie-talkies and mics.”
The process of filming is also much more democratic now, actors have the leeway to improvise. There is respect and harmony between cast and crew, she observes. Just one aspect of filming tripped her. “Earlier, to get started, someone would say “Sound, Camera and Action”. This was our cue. Today, there are many more steps: “Start sound, Camera. Then someone saying something from far off, and then much later, Action. I didn’t know all the steps and started speaking before it was time,” says Tagore laughing.
But being back has been rewarding. “It felt wonderfuI, it was like meeting an old, much loved friend,” says Tagore, who is now looking forward to her next film, Outhouse, and is also working on a Bengali film about ageing and its challenges. “I no longer want to be a part of star-driven movies,” she adds. “I want my projects to be story-driven, where the director is in control.”
Chandrachur Singh
Last big role: Prem Mayee (2012). Returned with: Aarya (2020)
Though he’d been in the industry since 1990, actor Chandrachur Singh, 55 became a household name with Maachis in 1996. Josh followed in 2000. And that was that. Until one logged onto Disney+Hotstar in 2020 to watch Sushmita Sen in Aarya, only to be surprised by Chandrachur Singh playing her husband, a pivotal role, and killing it.
Singh’s long break was to focus on his son, Shaarnjai, whom he raised as a single father in Gurugram. “I did have offers, but they weren’t projects I wanted to do,” he says. “I also wasn’t in Mumbai at the time, so I didn’t regret saying no.” But after his son, at 13, enrolled in a residential school in 2020, Singh began to contemplate a return. He wasn’t keen on TV, but says he couldn’t pass up the chance of working with Ram Madhvani.
Doing Aarya, he says, was extraordinarily memorable. “I went with my gut and I have no regrets,” says Singh, noting that Aarya was nominated for an Emmy for Best Drama Series. He did feel some anxiety though. “Everyone feels anxious if one is out of it for a while. But one needs that little edginess to be able to work. One needs to feel inspired,” says Singh.
What took some of the pressure off was Madhvani’s way of working. “The crew had workshops, which worked as an ice breaker and allowed room for spontaneity,” says Singh, who was more acquainted with the “come on set, deliver your lines, and leave” structure from the 1990s.
He also credits the streaming format for liberating actors. “In the ’90s and early 2000s, one had to fall into a category: An action, romantic or comedy hero. If an actor did something out of the box, it was difficult for people to accept that role. Also, back then, other actors didn’t get the same amount of respect,” reminisces Singh. “Now with streaming networks, having nine episodes instead of two-hour films gives characters longevity.” There are also more characters without whom the story can’t move ahead. Singh is now one of them.
Bhagyashree
Last big role: Laut Aao Trisha (2014). Returned with: Thalaivii (2021) and Radhe Shyam (2022)
Over 30 years ago, actor Bhagyashree shot to stardom with the superhit Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). Immediately after, she disappeared from the spotlight to raise her kids (actors Abhimanyu Dassani, 33, and Avantika Dassani, 28). She sought small roles that allowed her some flexibility and the freedom to bring her daughter to the sets. Most of these opportunities lay in industries in the South, as they are relatively more professional and punctual, and wrap productions quickly.
But, come 2021, she slayed her role in AL Vijay’s Thalaivii (2021) and Radha Krishna Kumar’s Radhe Shyam (2022). “I was nervous on set, but the crew has welcomed me back so warmly,” says the 54-year-old actor. “Being a hands-on mom took most of my time. I also had a health issue and an incident in the family,” says Bhagyashree.
The actor says she is fortunate to have starred in the superhit film Maine Pyar Kiya. It opens more doors and allowed her to showcase how much more she can do today. A lot has changed in the industry, she finds. “Earlier, there was a lot of sermonising in films. Today, that doesn’t happen at all because a lot needs to be conveyed in a short time. Also, the editing is super tight,” she says. Bhagyashree is now working on a Netflix film and looking forward to acting in a web series that will both be announced soon.
And she’s no longer just a pretty love interest. There are meatier roles. “It makes one feel younger to be able to connect with the next generation. But honestly, it’s not about making a comeback. There has to be consistency and dedication towards the art form. One has to love the art.”
