May 14, 2026 3:47pm IST
Rajshri Deshpande on Women Over 35 Being Invisible in Indian Cinema: ‘We Are Either a Gangster’s Wife or Somebody’s Mother’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Over the last decade, Rajshri Deshpande has quietly assembled one of the most compelling bodies of work across Indian independent cinema and the streaming space, moving from “Angry Indian Goddesses” to “Manto,” “Sacred Games” and “Trial by Fire” with performances rooted in emotional precision rather than star machinery. Yet, Deshpande says the farther she has moved into craft-led storytelling, the more she has found herself at odds with the industry’s current ecosystem.
Now returning with the Marathi feature “Baapya,” Deshpande is candid about the compromises she has refused to make.
Rejecting Repetition After ‘Sacred Games’
The actor says she made a conscious decision after “Sacred Games” to avoid becoming trapped in repetitions of the same archetype. “After ‘Sacred Games,’ I was done with that space,” she says. "Write a better character for me. I don’t mind playing a gangster’s wife ten times, but every gangster’s wife has to be different”
“I already decided I’m not going to spend tons of money on PR or projecting myself as a fashion icon,” she says. “I saved that money and used it to heal myself and take care of myself while waiting for good work.” That wait, she admits, has often been longer than expected. “After ‘Trial by Fire,’ after all the awards and appreciation, I still didn’t receive good scripts,” she says. “It took me almost two years to find something like ‘Baapya,’ where I felt challenged again.”
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Where’s The Writing For Women Over 35?
For Deshpande, the larger issue is not just typecasting but the absence of layered writing for women over 35. “It’s unfortunate that we still don’t have enough stories for women after acertain age,” Rajshri Deshpande says. “How many memorable roles do you really see for women post 35? Very few.”
Throughout the conversation, Deshpande references performers like Vidya Balan, Tabu, Olivia Colman and Frances McDormand while discussing the character-driven storytelling she believes Indian cinema has largely failed to cultivate.
“I wish somebody would write something like ‘The Crown’ or ‘The Favourite’ here,” she says. “There is so much a woman goes through after 35 and 40, but we are not writing those stories.”
‘Everything Has Become About Followers’
Deshpande believes the industry’s fixation on social media metrics has fundamentally altered the way projects are cast and positioned. “Everything has become about how many followers someone has or how many million views they get. The value of actors and films is increasingly being decided by numbers; Rajshri Deshpande says.
At one point, she becomes particularly animated while discussing casting culture. “Please don’t cast someone who will mess up a great role,” she adds. “Some really good characters die because of bad casting. A good actor brings catharsis to the role. At the end of the day, we are playing human beings.”
The actor acknowledges that resisting the industry’s networking circuits comes with consequences. Deshpande says, “You don’t network with people, you don’t go for fashion events, you’re not constantly being seen. This idea of out of sight, out of mind is deeply rooted. When you are not acting, you are still working,” she says. “You are evolving, observing, and understanding human nature.”
‘I Want People To Be Surprised’
Rajshri Deshpande remains deeply ambitious about the work she still wants to do. She speaks enthusiastically about comedy, mainstream cinema and larger commercial spaces that still rarely center actors like her. “I want to do everything,” she says. “I want to do comedy. I’m actually the funniest person in my friend group. I don't just want to be boxed in as an actor who only should be hired for serious parts. I would love to do comedy. I approach filmmakers all the time. I am hoping it happens.
For Rajshri Deshpande, acting is essentially about remaining unpredictable, emotionally present and creatively restless, even if that means waiting longer than most for the right part to arrive.
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