Sumukhi Pendse, who is seen as Rajeshwari Maheshwari in Prateek Sharma and Parth Shah’s Pukaar: Dil Se Dil Tak, which is produced under their banner, LSD Studios, feels the environment on the set is very important for work and performance. She believes it’s important for everyone to do their work diligently without mixing their personal and professional lives.
She said, “The environment on set is very important for work and performance. Personally, I’m a straightforward and logical person with clear principles. I have certain rules I follow. When I work, I focus on how many hours I’m dedicating to the project alongside my colleagues so that we can all do good work in a positive environment. I believe in being a good co-actor and team member without mixing personal and professional lives.”
“For me, life is simple and doesn’t need to be complicated. Good perspective comes when we focus clearly on our roles without distractions. I believe in working, going home, and staying happy,” she added.
Sumukhi started her career in the entertainment industry when she was in the 9th grade. It all started during a summer break, and she hasn’t stopped working ever since.
Talking about her career journey, she said, “My acting career started when I passed my 9th standard. And I was enjoying the holidays in the month of May. So that was the time when I first took part in a children’s Marathi play. I would say that I became a professional actor in 1982, in the month of May. So it has been 41 years of acting. And the journey has been fantastic so far. I did theater in Marathi.”
“Being a Maharashtrian, that was the first offer that came to me. I have also done theater in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati. I have done television in Marathi and Hindi. And I have done a couple of serials in Gujarati episodics. Not much work—not a great body of work to speak of. But yes, I have faced the camera for a Gujarati serial. I have done small bits in a couple of Hindi films. And I have done a decent character role in a couple of Marathi films,” she added.
She further said that she considers television to be her main medium of profession as an actor. She was part of the popular TV show Shanti. “August 15, 1994, was the first episode of the show, which was the first daily soap of India. And that is when my career as a professional started. It makes it 30 years this August. I had done episodic serials before that. But I was not serious about my career as an actor until then. I was basically doing theater, and theater was always a hobby, not a profession.“
Sumukhi says her career as an actor so far has been great, and she is grateful that work has always come her way. “I haven’t had to go knocking on doors asking for work. I am eternally grateful for this. I have been choosy most of the time about the roles I play. I have to like the character, and then only I will accept the project.”
“I have been lucky so far. Thank you so much for the support of my co-actors and the production houses. And, of course, the audience. Last but not least, there is the audience. If they accept you as the character that you’re playing, then you can do better and better work as the days go by,” she added.
