Actress Veena Jamkar has been selected for the Tanveer Natyadharmi Puraskar. The award has been instituted to encourage young theatre artists.
TANVEER AWARD have been instituted in the name of thespian Shreeram Lagoo’s son, Tanveer, who died when a miscreant flung a stone at him while he was travelling in a Pune-Mumbai train in 1994. Tanveer in Persian means ‘divine light in the sky’.
Veena Jamkar made her presence felt through films like Valu, Gabhricha Paus and Viheer. But it was the children’s plays, Ushir Hotoy and Vairee, that set her base as an artist. She got her early lessons from Sudha Karmarkar’s workshops. She got the national fellowship for acting in 1997 and later took Kathak lessons under Birju Maharaj.
Her acting talent was further polished at workshops by theatre guru Satyadev Dubey. Her talent was visible in plays like Payrya, Kalookh, Tich Ti Diwali, Khel Mandiyala and Davedar. Her role in the play Ek Rikami Baju, based on breast cancer was widely appreciated.
Jamkar. After making her debut at the young age of six, has won outstanding child artist award for her acting.
For the past 15 years she has sincerely devoted herself to Marathi stage, performing in many experimental plays, most of them bagging the awards. Veena Jamkar, after passing out from Mumbai’s D.G. Ruparel College made her mark into films through ‘Bebhaan’ only few years ago. Thereafter, Veena’s talent was exploited in films like ‘Valoo’ and ‘Gabhricha Paus’ which followed. Now, she is making waves through her latest performances in films like ‘Marmabandh’ and ‘ Janm’ which were shown at various film festivals. Besides these two films, her much talked about film ‘Lalbaug Parel’ is due for release in coming week. Having already been declared the most promising upcoming actress by the Maharashtra Government award conferred upon her three years ago, she has proved that every film she acted in, turned out to be not only a hit but an award winning film.
Veena Jamkar shares her experience in Marathi film industry with Marathimovieworld. Excerpts from an interview:
Q: Watching your films released so far, gives an indication that you have only performed in off beat films and not any commercial or comedy films. Your comments.
A: In fact, the films I did had off beat content, but they were all commercial films. Moreover, these films did a good business at ticket counter. Today, the definition of Parallel films and commercial films has changed. If you are presenting a good realistic script with the support of quality technical production, then it will surely be termed as commercial film. Instead of simply doing make-up and singing and dancing in front of the camera, I would always prefer to do memorable roles.
Q: Does it mean that you are choosy about the roles ?
A: Yes, luckily for me, all those roles coming to me turned out to be good. Though some of the roles were small, they remained in the memory of the people. I always believe in studying my character and background of the script in detail, instead of just paying attention on the dialogues provided to me by the director.
Q: You have worked with today’s talented young directors like Umesh Kulkarni, Satish Manvar and Girish Kulkarni. How was your personal experience working with them ?
A: Great! It was a pleasure working with all of them. Umesh is very talented and knows his job well. While working on the sets of ‘Valu’ I was closely observing his work. Satish too has deep knowledge about Dramas and films. Working in ‘Gabhricha Paus’ was a memorable experience. When you work with such people, obviously, there is ample scope for self improvisation. I consider myself lucky that at the beginning of my career, I had an opportunity to work with such people.
Q: You will be soon seen in Mahesh Manjrekar’s much talked about film ‘Lalbaug Parel’. What role are you playing in this film ?
A: This film is based on the lives of mill workers in Mumbai, who had to lose their jobs due to indefinite strike. I am playing the daughter of one such mill worker, whose life changes after the strike. What she does for survival and how she adjusts with her new life is all that this central character of mine would explain. This is the biggest role so far I have received in films. I am also in the Hindi version of this film. The role does have different shades.
Q: Now days, you are only seen in films. How about doing TV serials and stage plays ?
A: I have been receiving offers from TV serials. But, I just don’t want to accept them. I have got few films with limited or small roles and all those roles are good. I believe in quality than quantity. With my long experience of 15 years in theatre I am tempted to take few offers. Frankly speaking, just by doing theatre you cannot survive. Recently, I did perform in Atul Pethe’s experimental play ‘Dalpatsingh Yeti Gava’, which has very good script. I am also doing two more plays, ‘Char Diwas Premache’ and ‘Ek Rikami Bajoo’.
Q: It has been observed that all your films have received international acclaim or awards. Is this a coincidence or your calculated move?
A: (Smiles). May be a coincidence. But, I am so happy about it. I am really glad that I was part of these films like ‘Bebhaan’ ‘Valu’, ‘Gabhricha Paus’, Janm’ and ‘Marmabandh’.
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