Raveena Tandon Once Opened Up About How Ram Gopal Varma Was Not Sure About Her Casting In Shool (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Raveena Tandon might be a top actress of the 90s but had to convince Ram Gopal Varma for her role in Shool, directed by E Nivas. Raveena established herself in the comic space with her films opposite Govinda. However, that hindered her as she did not fit RGV’s criteria for Shool’s Manjari. However, the actress proved her acting prowess and convinced Varma she was not the wrong choice. Scroll below for the deets.
Shool was released in 1999, and Eeshwar Nivas directed the film. The film features Manoj Bajpayee and Sayaji Shinde in crucial roles. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was also featured at the International Film Festival of India and the Toronto International Film Festival. The action crime drama achieved a cult following over the years.
Raveena Tandon played the role of Manjari, wife of Samar Pratap Singh [played by Manoj Bajpayee]. At Netfilx’s Actors’ Roundtable 2021, Raveena opened up about fighting for her role in Shool. She recalled, “For Shool, I had to (fight). E Nivas (Eeshwar Nivas), the director of the film, was absolutely convinced. If you see Shool, there’s Manoj Bajpayee and me. I am Manjiri, playing a lower middle-class Bihari housewife with that orange sindoor and everything. Ramu was the producer, Ram Gopal Varma.”
Raveena explained, “And he was not convinced at all. He said, ‘No yaar Raveena. I shut my eyes and I can only see you do ‘Ankhiyon se goli maare.’ I was like, ‘Ramu please yaar!’He could not see me as Manjiri.” The Mohra actress did not give up and she continued to prove herself to Ram Gopal Varma, luckily the director was convinced and supported her.
She added, “I requested him to give it a shot. Even E Niwas was convinced this is my Manjiri. Cut to, we are shooting. We did all the publicity shoot before the film’s shoot. I got out of my make up room, was walking to the corridor. I am in that look (Manjiri). Ramu was coming from the front. I looked at him and said, ‘Ramu, how are you doing? We were waiting for you. But we have already started.” Raveena also said, “I was like, he really doesn’t want me on this film. But I still went to shoot and was doing my thing. Suddenly after, 5-7 minutes later I hear him go, ‘Oh my god! Raveena, that was you?’ And I said, ‘I rest my case.'”
Raveena Tandon concluded, “That is something I had to convince him to let me do because I was looking for that breakthrough. I was done with doing the kind of stuff I was already doing.”
Raveena Tandon has Welcome to the Jungle in the pipeline and is currently under production. She was last seen in the Disney+Hotstar drama thriller Karmma Calling.
