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HEMA PANCHAMUKHI
Sweet
& sensible
 Why
did you bid adieu to the big screen so soon?
I have done a couple of films like America America and Sambrama
but I found that the industry treats a married actress differently.
They announced that I was pregnant just one day after marriage.
There is a limit to everything. What I wanted they could not offer
and what they want I can’t do. That is the reason I quit the
big screen.
And
the small screen was waiting for you...
Small screen was always there in my mind. The roles I did made a
comfortable home for me. Working for just 15 days a month I have
finished more than 1000 episodes in two years.
Which
are the serials you have acted in?
I did key roles in mega serials like Bagirathi (250 episodes directed
by S.Narayan), Prathibimba (150 episodes directed by Nagathihalli
Chandrasekhar) Shrusti (150 episodes directed by K.S.L.Swamee) and
Bandhavya (350 plus episodes directed by Ravikiran).
What
happened after proving your mettle in America America?
I expected more offers after the success of the film. It ran for
one year. I got married after that film. The industry started treating
me like a second citizen after this. They themselves came to a conclusion
that I am not available for big screen. To break the myth I did
a couple of films including Sambrama and Ravi Mama but the small
screen offered me good roles.
What
kind of roles have you done on the small screen?
Each and every mega serial I have done is different. But the role
I am playing in Bandhavya, the current on air serial has three shades.
I play a normal girl, a vamp after marriage and later lose mental
balance and behave like a kid. I also played a dominant role in
Bagirathi who later becomes a social worker.
Your
in-laws don’t object to your career?
I am absolutely free. My husband Panchamukhi is also in the media.
He is an ad filmmaker working in New Delhi. He does not want the
talent in me to go waste. It is because of his encouragement that
I am here.
Why
do you want to do roles beyond your age?
Doing roles that are apt to our age is not challenging. When we
do performances beyond our age, it requires lot of exercise. In
cinema, TV and stage, performance is quintessential. I am looking
for such a powerful role that the audience should not recognize
me in that particular role.
What
do you intend to do for stage?
I want to build a ‘Kalamandira’ in the name of my grand
father Gopinath Das. It was around 70 years ago that my grand father
started ‘Prabhat Kalavidaru’ a cultural troupe. I am now
heading for the last three years. I am a classical dancer. I have
trained a lot of students in dance-drama shows and conducted ballets.
What
are your future plans?
I want to become a perfect human being. Through my students in ‘Prabhat
Kalavidaru’ I want to see my ambitions coming through. In acting,
I want to reach the place, Jaya Bachchan has achieved.
KS Vasu
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