'I’ve been a Mohanlal fan since my childhood'

It might have been Marathi actress Usha Jadhav’s maiden visit to Kerala recently, but the Malayali traditions and culinary varieties were enough to leave a lasting impression on her mind, according to the actress.
She says, “It feels amazing to be in Kerala, and I am already in love with it. Moreover, I find that Kochi is a clean city.” Usha adds that she is pretty informed about Malayalam films.She says, “I have watched a few Malayalam films when I was a kid, and I became a fan of Mohanlal after that. Though I do not remember the names of all the Malayalam films I have watched, I still remember Mohanlal’s Kaalapani.”
From having to face failures and rejections in the initial stages of her career, to making her debut in Hindi film industry through Madhur Bhandarkar’s Traffic Signal, and later grabbing the National Film Award for Best Actress for the Marathi film Dhag, Usha has come a long way. She says, “I am living my dream today. I come from a normal family in Kolhapur and had no film background or a godfather.”
Usha had to overlook several criticisms to race ahead, as she adds, “I was often cast aside by directors saying that I look very ordinary. Looking back at my journey, I think those rejections have taught me a lot and made me strong.” However, she says that after receiving the National Award, life has never been the same. She adds, “People who had belittled me till then, suddenly started sending me messages and giving me compliments.”
Ask her one person with whom she aspires to work with, she picks out Amitabh Bachchan’s name without giving it a thought. She says, “I had acted with him in an advertisement and shared screen space with him in Bhoothnath Returns. However, there is this longing to act with the actor again and again. Every actor in the country would dream of acting with Amitabh Bachchan, such is his persona.”
Usha’s next film is Lucknow Times, directed by a Bengali director, which has Divya Dutta playing a prominent role.