Geeta Agrawal Sharma: Carving a Niche in Versatile Characters on Screen

The actor Geeta Agrawal Sharma, who most recently acted in successful movies such as "12th Fail" and "Laapataa Ladies," claims that even though she only had little roles on screen, people were always aware of her presence.

The actor is gradually becoming a mainstay in projects across genres and formats, from playing Madam Aulakh, a politician who runs a cocaine racket in Punjab in the crime thriller web series "CAT," to Pushpa, a strong mother in the ambitious drama feature "12th Fail" who eventually takes charge of the house and farm.

Geeta began her career in television with episodes like "Kaisa Yeh Ishq Hai" and debuted in a feature film, "Foto," in 2007. She starred in the comedy film "Mubarakan" ten years later, which helped her get a part in "OMG 2".

"After working with Pavan Malhotra on "Mubarakan," he recommended my name to Amit Rai, the director of "OMG 2," as he had previously seen my work.

Thus, a role gave rise to another. I had collaborated with 'Mubarakan's' author, Balwinder Singh Janjua. In an interview with PTI, the 50-year-old actor said, "He cast me in his film, Tera Kya Hoga Lovely, and later in his directorial debut, OTT series CAT."

In addition to starring in the heartwarming gem "Laapataa Ladies" as Yashoda, a traditional mother who comes of age, she also appeared in the high-budget action film "Fighter" as Usha, a mother divided between her daughter, Deepika Padukone, and husband (Ashutosh Rana).

"I collaborated with director Siddharth Anand on a web series called 'Flesh.'" I was later offered "Fighter" by him. It was a minor but exquisite role. Being seen in the same frame as a superstar is an uncommon occurrence when you co-star. The director and editor were gracious enough to provide me that presence," she continued.

She has occasionally been approached for a movie with the line, "You are playing the role of a mother to 'x' actor," which confounds the theater-trained actor.

"What kind of offer is this, I wonder? Something significant must exist," she continued.

Her characters are no longer unnamed, which is a positive shift.

"A woman director (Meghna Gulzar) does this; while I was filming 'Chhapaak,' my character had no name, but in the script, her name was Rama. The lady I played in Mira Nair's "A Suitable Boy" was addressed as Mrs. Mahesh instead of having her name there on purpose.

"I recall writing my character Pushpa's name on my hand in '12th Fail.'" You gain that confidence when you give your character a name. Manju is the name of my character in "All India Rank." My characters are starting to get names now. There has been a significant shift, Geeta stated.

A majority of her filmmakers, including Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, Anand, and Balwinder Singh Janjua, have contacted the actor, who was born in Wardha, to collaborate with her once more.

With her second film, "Delhi 6," Mehra worked with Geeta. After that, she got cast in Mirzya and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The actor and Janjua will collaborate on the upcoming movie "Sab First Class."

The director I work with frequently uses the same lines as myself. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing directors, like Varun Grover, Meghna Gulzar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, and Mira Nair. As I don't think in luck, I'm happy that I was able to appear in such amazing movies. Regardless of the size of the part, it had an appropriate graph, the speaker stated.

As a result of her distinctive work in several movies, people have also begun to recognize her. But Geeta claimed she was incapable of accepting praise.

"I find myself in a tight spot, scared, and under pressure. I recently met a man at an airport who asked to take a selfie with me. I answered, "Okay." Saying, "I want you to have a picture with my wife," he forced me walk past two gates. She remarked, "These things are better than the compliments."

Geeta, who has instructed acting to pupils in colleges and schools in Haryana, stated she felt obligated to represent a variety of female skin tones on television.

"Being an actor gives me the chance to get into the skin of a character every time and experience their life from their perspective. Acting is a form of art that undoubtedly has a function. It would be wonderful if I could embody the lives of everyone in our immediate vicinity.

"Among many other roles, I've taken on the roles of a sports coach, a politician's wife, and a destitute woman. I was able to experience multiple on-screen lives through these personas. Thousands of these kinds of characters need to be included. She remarked, "I hope directors think I can play those parts and offer me those roles."

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.