May 17, 2026 6:31pm IST
Swaroop Sampat Rawal On Return To Theater: ‘Nothing Beats Acting On Stage, NOTHING!’
A former Miss India (1979) and an actress on stage and screen, an educationist, Swaroop Sampat Rawal returns to theater with the Anupam Kher production, “Jaane Pehchaane Anjane…”, written and directed by Gajendra Ahire with Kher as her co-star. In this production, she plays Vimal Desai, a woman searching for her identity and basic happiness. The play will be staged in Delhi and Kolkata for now and returns to Mumbai on June 7 with further dates to be announced.
Speaking to Variety India, she discusses her return to stage and the choices she has made that have defined her acting career this far…
You’ve had a long career in acting...
It’s been 25 years since I last rehearsed for a play, so you can imagine [how long it’s been]! Let’s start with why I accepted this play! I’ve been working in theater for five decades now. I started when I was 16 and am 67 now! [In a sense] I’ve never been away from theater. I started as a costume and set designer and then, Paresh (Rawal) and Shafi Bhai (the late Shafi Inamdar), made me an actress, literally! I was just hanging out with them. One day, Shafi turns to Paresh and says, “Yaar, teri girlfriend ko role de dete hain (Let’s give your girlfriend a role)!” So, I said, ‘Okay, come on, let’s do it.’ So, that’s how I became an actress. Then I became Miss India. I did films, I did “Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi” for TV and then I got married. And then I stopped working as much! Cut to much later, I was doing a web series and serial called “All the Best” with SAB TV. I did one film at that time, “Saathiya” (2002).
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You stopped doing films after that for a while.
The reason I didn’t do films after “Saathiya” is that the cameraman told the director, “She is looking as young as the heroine (Rani Mukerji)!” And I felt so bad! I mean, like it’s so embarrassing, you know, that you’re not looking old enough to be the mother. So, I said, ‘Chhodo (Leave it), I don’t want to do this.’ My kids were growing up. It was difficult for me to leave home and go. And so, I just stopped, until an offer for this play called “Shaadi@Barbaadi.com” [came my way]. That was in 2000. Paresh was doing that play and the American sponsors said that they did not want to do it unless I acted in it! Which was a bit of a shock for poor Paresh. But yes, I did it. And it was great fun. You can imagine what the play was like with the two of us. Then, I stopped acting at one point because by 2004, I did my Ph. D. and then I was working as an educationist. By that time, of course, I was getting satisfaction as a researcher. But I was still involved and produced “Krishan vs Kanahiya,” from which we made “Oh My God!”, and later, “Dear Father”. So, I’ve never not been involved with theater. But acting is different. Being on stage is being on stage, you know! And nothing can beat acting on stage—Nothing! So, there was this wish, this desire to do a play. And so often it would be, “I wish I could do it!” And then, Anupam called me out of the blue and said, “You know, I’m doing this play! Will you come in?”
How did your family react?
I had three diverse reactions from home! My husband said, “No, no! Don’t do plays! You’ve not done theater for so long. It’s damn tough!” Anirudh, my eldest son, took the middle path. “Maybe you’ll be good. Maybe! I don’t know!” My younger one, Aditya, stated, “Come what may, you have to do it!”
So I watched the play from which “Jaane Pehchaane Anjane…” was adapted. But I was still scared, seriously very scared! I just didn’t give Anupam a reply. I was at the airport going to Jodhpur for a school function. So I told him, “Let me come back to Mumbai and I’ll call you the next day. I called him the same day, I don’t know why, and said, “Anupam, I’m doing it!”
He proved to be the most fantastic co-star. I told him one day, “Anupam, I never thought you’d be so nice!” I’m happy to be working with him. In theater, it’s very difficult to work with people who you don’t get along with, or who are not nice people. Because it’s not only the play, but you travel together, you’re working backstage as well. And now I’m so glad I’m doing this play. Our shows are lined up in a row now.
Did you ever ask Anupam Kher why he chose you? There are so many choices today.
Well, maybe there weren’t so many choices! It’s a [specific] age group [he was looking for] and I fit in. Like she’s a grandmother, a widow. And the other thing is comedy. You know, I don’t think so many people can do such good comedy. (Winks)
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from him?
One thing we both agree on is “Never say die!” Both of us say that we are not old. We both decided never to ‘grow old’, and it’s not about aging. I may have gray hair, but I’ve stopped coloring my hair since the pandemic. And I’ve never ever done Botox or anything like that. And I’m proud of it. I’m happy to tell you my age. I’m 67. He says he’s happy to share his age too. He’s as old as Paresh and both of them are 70. And, you know, they don’t care. Because they’re doing such super work.
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