Veteran actress Supriya Pathak recently took a nostalgic yet candid trip down memory lane, highlighting the stark contrast between modern film sets and the grueling working conditions of the 1980s and 90s. In a recent interview, the ‘Khichdi’ actress revealed how she and her contemporaries often worked without basic necessities like washrooms, vanity vans, or proper resting areas. Recounting her experience filming in a scorching chili factory for the cult classic ‘Mirch Masala’, Pathak shared how a dozen women would rest on bundles of hay just to get through the day. While she credits “pure passion” for sustaining actors in the past, she emphasizes that the shift toward better facilities today is a long-overdue victory for necessity over luxury.
Supriya Pathak on passion over comfort
During her chat with Bollywood Bubble, Supriya opened up about the film industry in the 90s and how actors managed without vanity vans. She shared, “Mujhe aisa lagta hai ki basically hum log jo kaam karte the, phir se wahi passion ki baat aa jaati hai. Joh passion tha hamare andar acting karne ka, ya characters banane ka, uski wajah se baaki saari cheezein unimportant lagti thi. Par dheere-dheere realise hua ki nahi, yeh bhi important hai. Aapko koi ek baithne ki jagah chahiye. As women, especially, aapko ek bathroom ki facility honi chahiye. Matlab main aaj bhi kehti hoon ki kitni jagahon par hum shoot karne jaate hain jahan bathroom bhi provide nahi kiya jaata ya hota hi nahi hai.”(I feel that the work we did was all about passion. The passion we had for acting and building characters made everything else feel less significant. But slowly, we realised that these things also matter. You need a place to sit. As women especially, you need to have access to a bathroom. Even today, I still say that in many places where we shoot, basic facilities like bathrooms are either not provided or nonexistent.Supriya continued, “Toh phir dheere-dheere realise hone laga ki yeh saari necessities hain. Yeh hum luxury ke point of view se nahi bol rahe hain, hum necessity ke point of view se bol rahe hain. Toh us tarah se thoda-thoda, I think, sabne jab foot put down kiya, tab changes aane lage. Producers ko bhi realise hone laga ki haan yaar, yeh saari cheezein toh honi chahiye.“(Then slowly, we started realising that all these things are basic necessities. We’re not talking about them as luxuries, but as essential needs. Gradually, when everyone began to stand their ground, changes started taking place. Even the producers began to understand that yes, these things are absolutely necessary)
Supriya Pathak on basic needs
Pathak added, “Ek actor ke liye jaise hamare wahan spot boys hote the, chai lana, agar aap sardi mein shoot kar rahe ho, kahin bhi shoot kar rahe ho, toh basic facilities toh chahiye hi. Khana, paani, chai, yeh sab basic cheezein zaroori hoti hain. Phir I think dheere-dheere yeh saare changes hamari industry mein aane lage. Aaj shooting karna kaafi comfortable hogaya hai, chahe aap kahin bhi ho. Pehele ke time se kaafi different hai. Uss waqt toh hum literally kahin bhi, kuch bhi karke baith jaate the.”(For an actor, just like we have spot boys on set, bringing tea and helping around — whether you’re shooting in the cold or anywhere else — basic facilities are a must. Food, water, tea – these small things are essential. Slowly, I think, all these changes started coming into our industry. Today, shooting has become much more comfortable, no matter where you are. It’s very different from those earlier days when we would literally sit and manage things anywhere, in any situation.The actress revealed, “Maine ek film ki thi Mirch Masala, jise Ketan Mehta ji ne direct kiya tha. Usmein hum saari auratein thi, around 10 women aur hum mirchi ki factory mein shoot kar rahe the. Woh ek chhota sa gaon tha, bahut garmi thi. Wahan peeche ek shed jaisa tha jahan ghaas, yaani hay, dala hua tha. Shayad mirchi ko clean karne ka koi process wahan hota tha. Toh bade-bade bundles of hay bana ke rakhe hue the, aur hum poora din usi par baithte the. Kabhi usi par let bhi jaate the.”(I had done a film called Mirch Masala, which was directed by Ketan Mehta. In that film, we were all women — around ten of us — shooting in a chilli factory. It was a small village and extremely hot. Behind the set, there was a shed filled with hay, which was probably used in the chilli cleaning process. Large bundles of hay were stacked there, and we would sit on them all day long. Sometimes, we would even lie down on them to rest.Pathak concluded, “Sab ek saath hote the, aur kabhi-kabhi doosre actors bhi aa jaate the wahan. Toh us waqt wahi environment tha. Aur us waqt humein koi farq bhi nahi padta tha, ek toh hum young the, aur passion bhi bahut tha. Lekin aaj mujhe lagta hai ki zaroori nahi hai ki logon ko us tarah se rakha jaye. Aaj facilities mil sakti hain. Tab milti nahi thi. Aaj kal itni facilities milne lagi hain ki woh sab dekh kar thoda ajeeb lagta hai, you know.”(We were all together, and sometimes other actors would also join us there. That was the kind of environment back then. It didn’t really bother us at the time — partly because we were young and full of passion. But now, I feel it’s not necessary for people to work in those conditions. Today, proper facilities are available. Back then, they weren’t. Now, when I see the kind of comfort actors have, it feels a bit strange, you know.
More about Supriya Pathak
Supriya Pathak started in theatre with her mother Dina Pathak, then debuted in films with ‘Kalyug’ (1981). She won awards for ‘Bazaar’ (1982) and ‘Ram-Leela’ (2013). She acted in films like ‘Masoom’ and ‘Mirch Masala’, TV shows like ‘Khichdi’ (as Hansa) and ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’, and returned after marriage with ‘Sarkar’, ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Raid 2’ and ‘Khichdi 2’. She runs a production house with husband Pankaj Kapur.
