Arundhati Nag returns to Marathi films after 40 years

In 1979, a young Arundhati Nag (then Arundhati Rao), made her debut on the big screen with the Marathi film 22 June 1897. But it took 40 years for the veteran actress, a known name in the film and theatre circuit of the country, to return to Marathi cinema. The Padma Shri awardee will soon be seen in Mohit Takalkar’s directorial debut, Medium Spicy, in a special appearance.
Arundhati, who has acted in multiple languages and has been part of Hindi films like Dil Se and Paa as well, will play the role of Laxmi Tipnis in the Marathi film. “Coming back to Marathi cinema after 40 years feels good. It’s a complete circle and yet, I feel almost like starting afresh as a debutant. I have seen Mohit’s plays at Ranga Shankara (the theatre space Arundhati runs) and during one of the shows, he sat next to me and asked. ‘Aru akka, I am planning to direct a film soon. There’s arole I would like you to do. Would you be a part of it?’,” reminisces Arundhati, who is all praises for her co-actor Lalit Prabhakar.
She adds, “The script and a character description was sent to me, but magic happened when I reached the set and read the lines with my co-actor, Lalit Prabhakar. I feel he suits the role to the T and transforms into his character effortlessly.”
On his part, Mohit shares that the dynamic character of Laxmi could’ve only been pulled off by Arundhati. Mohit added, “I know her since the last 15-20 years and she is a multi-faceted performer. She willingly came on board and I am happy about that. Though she’s had a long break from Marathi cinema, Arundhati maintains a fluency in Marathi and the role was a cakewalk for her.”