Talking to Prateek Sur, Neelu Kohli speaks up about varied issues and problems that senior artists in today’s time have to go through. She also shares her experience of working with Big B. Excerpts:

People always feel that it’s easy for character artists to get work. Even after being a senior actor, do you still have to go through auditions to get a role?

Being a character actor, it’s not easy on TV or in films. Especially in films because that’s where all the competition lies and that’s where all the scrutiny lies. People on TV are still casting a lot of new people. I feel there is a lot of competition. I still audition for a lot of roles, most of the roles.

Has OTT changed the game for senior actors?

Yes, definitely. OTT has changed the game for all of us, especially senior actors. You have to know your job to be a part of the OTT system and there is no scope for experiments I think because of competition. I somehow feel that now we have reached a time where the bubble is going to burst any moment because there is so much stuff lined up. I hope it carries on like this as I feel this is the best time for me as an actor as OTT is offering a lot of work to senior actors like us.

Is there enough work for senior actors? Are you’ll getting better roles now to portray onscreen?

In the OTT and film space, there is lesser work for women, it is male-dominated. Yes, there is always scope for more work. It also depends on what your society level is. There are people who do little work and are ok with it. I still feel that I haven’t reached a point where I can say this is somewhere I would like to stop and say “this is my best work” & “ab jo hoga aaisa hi hoga”. So it’s a very Catch-22 situation.

Being a character artist, is it difficult to have a steady income so as to raise a family?

I have worked for so many years steadily, yet I always feel that I make very less money. Just a certain section of the actors get the major chunk of money where they have these sprawling houses and these fancy cars. People like us don’t have a support system from the family. I don’t think I would earn so much that I can afford luxury if I didn’t have a husband who worked, a family business, etc. Of course, I did support my family, and their education etc, yet I feel there is this disparity.

You worked with Amitabh Bachchan recently. What was the experience like?

Working with Mr Bachchan was like a dream. The only person I was ever star-struck by was only Mr Bachchan. It was a dream for me, those 10 days where you get to see Mr Bachchan every morning, all dressed. We were doing this in the midst of Covid and the way he gets back himself is so amazing. Not only does he remember his own lines, but he also remembers the lines of other actors, their continuity, plus the continuity of the entire place. If there is a newspaper which is turned around, he knows in the last shot, or the beginning of the master shot how it was placed. He is such an institution and I felt I have arrived when I was working with him. This was the only place where I let my heart fly. Normally we all go for roles and ask “hum kya kar rahe hain is film main”. But this was the first time, I was cast by Mukesh Chabbra and he said, “Neeluji, just go ahead and have fun on the sets”. So honestly, whatever came through, whatever came across on celluloid, on-screen was perfect! I could not have asked for more. I was so happy with the whole scenario and honestly, I have Mukesh Chabbra to thank for this.

What next can we see you in?

Yes, there is a lot coming up. There is a lot in the pipeline. There is a film on Netflix with Sonakshi Sinha and Ritesh Deshmukh. Then there is another film with our ‘Uri’ director Aditya Dhar which has Yami Gautam and Pratik Gandhi in the lead. Then there is another film with Shreyas Talpade which is on a Rajasthani background. There are also a few series which are very interesting and going to release soon. Yet I feel there is scope for so much more. I could do so much more also because I think I come from the world of TV where you kind of trained for so many years to venture out every morning for a shoot. It’s so much in your system that you’re used to working every day. In fact, I am kind of unlearning the process. Like its ok to work for 5-6 days a month on a lower side and that’s how it goes on OTT and films. For character artists like us, at the moment, I work on an average of 8-10 days for a web series and 5-7 days for a film. This is something that I would like to break. I would like to kind of tell people that I worked much more and would definitely like to do better roles. We also have that hunger inside us because I still feel I haven’t proved myself. Now, I feel I am just a character requirement. I would rather be an actor and then a character requirement, but proving myself as an actor is still a process and I am still working towards it. Of course, everyone lives on hope and so do I. I am also living in the hope that there is going to be better work tomorrow.