Today we’d like to introduce you to Rajshri Deshpande.
Hi Rajshri, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. This is not my quote. It’s by Thomas Merton. But I believe it’s true. I’ve lived by it. I’ve found myself in pursuit of roles that have challenged me, and I’ve lost myself completely bringing those characters to life.
I hail from humble beginnings and have been raised in a family of farmers. Theatre and mimicry was my passion since childhood. Due to a protocol of family had to pay more attention to studies and move away from art. Along with my Bachelor’s in Law to support financially, I worked in Advertising for six years. Fortunately, life had another plan. Deconstructed and went back to my passion ‘Acting’.
I subsequently trained in Acting, Filmmaking, Kathakali, Sword Fighting, and Kalari Payattu. From being a trained actor to working in critically acclaimed movies, I’ve been taking one step at a time, trying to build a body of work that I shall be proud of when I turn ninety.
And as we know, it’s so easy to get lost in the world of razzmatazz and glamour that comes naturally to the world of movies. So to keep my sane side alive, I’ve also aligned myself with a number of social causes. It not only helps me remain grounded and thankful for all I have, but it also gives me an opportunity to witness life from close quarters, in all its myriad shades – white, black, and grey. It’s nourishment for the actor in me.
I am an avid traveler and prolific reader too. Anything that makes my life enriching finds a place on my calendar. I am currently based in Mumbai, India, and LA.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As coming from a small town from a low middle-class background, my major challenge was making my family understand that art is not an extracurricular activity but can be a carrier too. So art took backstage for many years and I forgot my passion and dream to be an artist. I was very happy after many years I finally took the plunge but it was not easy again. Coming from no connection and money, surviving in the film industry was tough. Finally, after many rejections and hard work I somewhere reached a place where I can create a space for myself. But the road is still long and many challenges is yet to face.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I gained international recognition with my portrayal of Laxmi in Pan Nalin’s ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES. This was followed by the titular role of Durga in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s SEXY DURGA, which won the Hivos Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. I also played the role of Manju in BBC One’s MCMAFIA, the British television show directed by James Watkins. I have received critical acclaim for my performance as Subhadra in Netflix India’s most successful series to date, SACRED GAMES, created by Vikram Motwane and directed by Anurag Kashyap. In 2018, the film ‘MANTO’ premiered at the Cannes film festival in uncertain regard where I played Urdu Novelist ‘Ismat Chughtai’. In 2021, I played an Antagonist in the Netflix Prime show ‘THE FAME GAME’. In 2023, I starred in the Netflix limited series ‘TRIAL BY FIRE’ Directed by Prashant Nair, which was one of the top ten most-watched shows on Netflix in eight countries. The film “Privacy” in which I am playing the protagonist is premiering in BIFAN 2023. Recently finished another independent project in LA i.e. ‘HEMA’ directed by Ritvik Dhavle.
After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, I worked with an international NGO in the country. Also in 2015, I adopted a drought-prone village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra called Pandhari and organized a rainwater harvesting project, built toilets, conducted health checkups and community motivation camps, and built an eco-sensitive school in the same village. Encouraged by the success and social participation in the first village, I adopted 30 more villages in the region. In 2018, created the non-profit’ Nabhangan Foundation’ to broaden efforts toward sustainable village development. Since its creation, Nabhangan has made great strides to help empower villages to reach self-reliance. For example, we helped transition 4 Zilla Parishad Schools into an eco-friendly, sustainable building that would serve as an example for other villages.
What’s next?
It’s been ten years since I am part of the film industry and ten years as a social worker. I have tons of stories from the hinterland which I feel the world should know. So Being a social worker I would like to work on more realistic stories, Direct social subjects with the base of facts. As an actor, I would definitely like to work in global spaces and work on creating more interesting characters.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajshri_deshpande/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rajshrideshpandepage
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajshri-deshpande-06016b98/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rajshriartist
