Celebrated actor Radhika Apte has reached a significant milestone, completing two decades in the Indian film industry. However, in a candid revelation, she expressed a strong desire to disown her cinematic debut, citing a deeply unpleasant experience with the film's producers.
A Debut She Wishes To Forget
Speaking on SCREEN's Creator X Creator series, Apte openly discussed her first film, the 2005 fantasy comedy 'Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!', directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. The film featured a star-studded cast including Shahid Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Amrita Rao, and Arshad Warsi. Despite the high-profile project, Apte's memories are overwhelmingly negative, primarily due to the conduct of the producers.
"The awful producers didn't put me up, didn't pay me," Apte stated bluntly. She recounted how when she and her mother requested a formal contract, they were dismissively told that even established stars like Urmila Matondkar did not sign contracts. "I don't know if she signed or not, but they treated us horribly. Mahesh Manjrekar was a great guy. That's why I like to forget my film because the production was awful! And I say it out loud," she asserted, naming producer Sangeetha Ahir.
How She Landed The Role And The Aftermath
The actor traced the origin of the role back to a theatre production. "I was doing a play called Brain Surgeon. It was a good play. We won an award in a state competition. Mahesh Manjrekar was one of the judges. He called me after the play and said, 'I want to cast you'," she recalled.
However, of the three films Manjrekar was directing at the time, he felt Apte was too young for the other two—'Rakht' (2004) and 'Deha' (2007). Consequently, she was cast in 'Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!'. The experience was so disheartening that Apte took a long break from films to complete her education. "Then I didn't do a film for a long time. I finished college, and then I went back to films after a long time. So, I don't really count that as one of the films I did. But yeah, it's been two decades," she added.
Career Trajectory Post The Rocky Start
Following her tumultuous debut, Radhika Apte rebuilt her career with work in Bengali and Marathi cinema. Her official Hindi film debut came later with Ram Gopal Varma's 2010 political action thriller 'Rakta Charitra', which was also made in Telugu. She has since established herself as a versatile and critically acclaimed performer across mainstream Bollywood, independent cinema, and international projects.
Her most recent appearance is in Tisca Chopra's directorial debut 'Saali Mohabbat', backed by Manish Malhotra's Stage 5 Productions. In the film, now streaming on ZEE5, Apte plays Smita, a homemaker who discovers her husband's affair with her sister. The film also stars Divyenndu, Anurag Kashyap, and Sharat Saxena.
Radhika Apte's frank confession sheds light on the often-glamorized world of Bollywood, highlighting the challenges newcomers can face, even when backed by big names. Her journey from a traumatic debut to a respected twenty-year career stands as a testament to her resilience and talent.
