Be it negative as it may, some grey characters are essential to a story, and actress Sayantani Ghosh’s role in Dahej Dassi is an example to this. The actress plays the role of Vindhya Devi, the antagonist in the Do Dooni 4 Films production.
“There are some characters which are integral to the progression of the story, and my character is like that. While it is a dark role that I play, my character is clearly the narrative-driving force and everything revolves around her actions. She is the Maha Sarpanch of 50 villages, and the Dahej Daasi comes to her house. It’s a very powerful and authoritative role. She’s like the king, and she rules; things work according to her wishes and all the traditions. For her, more than anything, more than life or God, her respect is important. As the story progresses, her ideologies clash with Chunri’s, and the story moves ahead. Apart from that, she’s a super powerful woman who believes in her principles, and for her, her self-respect is of utmost importance,” she says.
Talking about playing a Rajasthani character, she says, “The experience is rather personal for me as my in-laws, though Pahadi but are from Jaipur. I told everybody, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, that I am playing a Rajasthani character, and, they too, were so excited. Of course, it is challenging to pull off a Rajasthani character, especially the accent, but I am totally prepared for this challenge. We have had workshops where were given special training regarding the dialogues. Besides this, Vindhya Devi is a strong woman, not only mentally, but physically as well. When she stands, it’s always straight, she never slouches. So I have been making sure to perfect my posture.”
She adds, “like I said though my in-laws are Pahadi, they hail from Jaipur and we are talking using words like Bindani, Atthe, Maare, so the language, the demeanor, clothes, everything is exciting for me. I am wearing a lehenga with a shirt, pallu on my head and a bindi!”
Ask her if she connects to her role, and she says, “Well, her strength is inspiring and that is something that I relate to. She’s made a strong position for herself in a male-dominated world, and that is really commendable. Besides this, she loves her family, especially her son. This love for family is of course a commonality. But yes, there is a bad side to her as well and that is rather challenging for me to portray as I am not like that. But that’s the fun of acting, right? You get to play roles that are diverse from how you are. To be able to portray a character that is not you I think that’s where the expertise of an actor lies and I’m happy that I’m getting an opportunity to play Vindhya Devi.”
