These are interesting times to be an actor: Mugdha Godse

It’s been quite a while for Mugdha Godse in the film scenario - over a decade, considering she made her debut in the much-talked-about Bollywood film, Fashion, in 2008. During this span of time, she’s done commercials, judged a reality show, done about 15 other films, including the hit Tamil film, Jayam Ravi-starrer, Thani Oruvan.
Mugdha, a former model, and Femina Miss India 2004 semi-finalist, was in the city to judge a fashion show, and we caught up with her as she was speeding out of town on work.
“Each time I come to Chennai, I feel I am in a different place altogether — this city is a standalone — be it its culture, the people, the way they dress, their lifestyle, everything is different,” she says, and exclaims, “Even the roads and infrastructure are fantastic as compared to other cities —the roads on the outskirts are so well maintained.”
Mugdha, who couldn’t have asked for a better launchpad than Thani Oruvan to foray into Tamil cinema, says, “Though I had my worries before I began shooting for the film, everything disappeared with the very first shot. After that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The Tamil filmmaking setup is totally professional. They know what they want. Of course, language was a barrier, but once I knew the subject matter, I could manage.”
“Plus, we have our ways to overcome this — we mug the lines up with the right nuances; I even learnt a few lines in the process. And we don’t have to dub, so that’s a blessing.”
Mugdha’s beau, Rahul Dev, is already a known name in the south film industry — having played baddie in many films. And interestingly, in Mugdha’s next Tamil outing, Coffee, directed by debutant Sai Krishna, she’s acting alongside Rahul. So, how was it on the set? “Rahul’s a pro. Of the 120 odd films he’s done, 60-70 are in the south alone. So, he’s got the knack of it now — he plays the bad guy, again! And mine is a situation-based character. It was interesting,” says Mugdha, who waves away a question on marriage with, “I don’t know when it will happen.”
Regional languages apart, the stage has also panned out for actors, thanks to web series, and many other content-oriented programmes being made for the internet. How has that upped the game for her? “These are more ways to showcase our talent, I’d say. These are interesting times to be an actor — interesting content, storylines that are far removed from the staid and cliched, and roles that have a lot to bite into give us a lot of avenues to explore,” says Mugdha.
She adds, “Also, the lines between commercial cinema and arthouse cinema are blurring, thanks to all these platforms. Earlier, I knew about art films that went into the awards circuit or commercial films that got a wow theatrical release. Nowadays, there’s so much more to a film — content and acting prowess alone work. Only good movies, therefore, are being made,” says Mugdha.