Shubhangi Atre opens up about new beginnings; says, “The audience is more accepting, you can start afresh”

The audience has become more accepting, and an actor does not need to stay tied to a particular role, says Shubhangi Atre, who is bidding goodbye to her popular screen persona of Angoori Bhabhi with the new movie Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain.Atre took on the role of Angoori Bhabhi in the popular sitcom Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain in 2016 after actor Shilpa Shinde left the serial due to differences with the makers. Shinde is now back on the show’s 2.0 version. She is happy that she got to play the character one last time in the film. She is also looking forward to exploring different opportunities that will take her beyond the image of a homely wife whose broken English leads to humorous moments on the show.“Social media has come to have a huge benefit for actors. It gives you a platform to showcase different looks. Earlier, if you played a character on TV, you became that. In shows like Ramayan, Arun Govil ji used to be greeted like Lord Ram; people would touch his feet whenever he stepped out. The advantage of social media is that people know me as Angoori on the show, but they also know me as Shubhangi,” the actor told PTI in an interview.Recalling an incident when she met a group of women at the airport while on her way to meet her mother in Bhopal, she said, “They were going on a jungle safari, and the moment they spotted me, they got their pictures clicked and asked me why I left the show. When I told them that I wanted to do something else as an actor, they very sweetly offered suggestions on what I should explore next.”“That way, the audience has also become very accepting… Now you don’t need to stay tied to an image. There is no stigma like that… It takes some time, but after a short break, you can start afresh,” she added.Saumya Tandon, Atre’s co-star on the show, recently played the wife of Akshaye Khanna’s Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar and received a lot of praise for her portrayal. Atre said she immediately called Tandon to congratulate her after watching the film, which is now a blockbuster hit.“She was so beautiful, graceful, and poised… She could speak through her eyes. If you can do that, then that’s the best thing as an actor. I remember when I worked with Anurag Basu, he told me, ‘Shubhangi, you don’t need to say too many dialogues; I want you to speak through your eyes.’ She has done great work in Dhurandhar. Now I also want to experiment with new characters after Bhabhiji… There are some offers for my next,” she said.Atre, who began her career in 2009 with the popular show Kasauti Zindagi Kii and later appeared in Kasturi as well as an Anurag Basu story on Tagore, is best known as Angoori and for her catchphrase, “Sahi pakde hain”. The dialogue has now become a part of her, so much so that she ends up saying it everywhere.“The other day, I was shopping for sarees and pointing towards a particular sari, and when the shopkeeper picked it up, I instantly said, ‘Sahi pakde hain’.”Talking about how the film version—also starring Vidisha Srivastava, Aasif Sheikh, Rohitashv Gour, Ravi Kishan, Mukesh Tiwari, and Nirahua in pivotal roles—came about, the actor said it was a decision taken by the makers and the channel, as the show has been popular for years, with each of its characters etched in public memory.“We got to know in November 2024 that they were planning to make a movie, and we were all very happy and excited. It was the dream of our writer Manoj Santoshi ji. He passed away. This is the best tribute to him from all of us because this project was very close to his heart. The show is also very dear to our director Shashank Bali. I was very happy because we shot in Mussoorie, and I love the mountains,” she said.When she first joined the show in 2016, at the peak of its popularity, the actor said she was scared to step into a character that had already become iconic, but felt relieved when fans embraced her version.“As they say, I climbed into an already moving car, but thankfully all the actors supported me in a big way and welcomed me with a lot of love. I think if you do something with heart, it will definitely reach others. I am from Madhya Pradesh, my mother is a housewife. I have seen women whose world revolves around their husbands. I was scared but also determined that I would do a good job. God was so kind to me that people easily accepted me as Angoori,” she said.Leaving Angoori behind is difficult, but the film serves as the perfect closure, Atre said, adding that she will always cherish the memories of being part of the show and its team for 10 years.“Everyone became a family on the show. You work for 12 hours, it’s a huge amount of time to spend on set, to have fun, and celebrate festivals together. During Covid, we were in a bio-bubble in Surat as we were not allowed to leave the hotel.“In the serial, Angoori is always in the kitchen, and I have done that for real on the sets. When we were in the bio-bubble, I made paalak ke pakode for Aasif ji and the unit. I also made puris. They are all like family to me,” she said.