Graduate from Mumbai’s J.J. School of Arts, Hemangi Kavi is a renowned artistic painter besides being a talented actress.  On stage, she began with ‘Shame to Shame’ and then did ‘Many Happy Returns’ while on television she started off with a serial on Saam TV and became a popular TV artiste with her serial ‘Maddam Sasu Dhaddam Sun’ on Mi Marathi in the recent past.

Hemangi’s role in the film ‘Dhudgus‘ bagged her the Best actress ‘Late V. Shantaram’ award from Zee Talkies in 2009. An actress with tremendous potential, Hemangi promises good performances in days to come. Marathi Movie World spoke to this talented actress. Excerpts from an interview:

Q: Recently you were seen on television through reality show ‘Fu Bai Fu’ and comedy TV serial ‘Maddam Sasu ani Dhaddam Soon'( MSDS). How do you rate your success as a TV star ?
A: Now, both my shows are no more there, but I enjoyed working in both of them. In ‘Fu Bai Fu’ there was tremendous scope for variety and MSDS provided me a platform to entertain the audience through a comedy arising out of the Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relations. In Marathi, it worked very well.
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Q: But, don’t you think that you gained popularity faster through your TV appearance rather than being a talented film actress for the past few years?
A: Yes, it could be possible, as TV takes you to almost every Maharashtrian house. I have been doing films, but not all my films were super hit, to become very popular. When I performed in ‘Fu Bai Fu’ as one of the participants, we were provided with the script but given the liberty to perform in our own way using our creativity and that was perhaps more accepted by the audience.

Q: Yes, we liked your part where you and your partner Kushal Badrike played new born babies in the hospital. Wasn’t that a difficult task ?
A: Yes, it was difficult but we rehearsed well before presenting the same. And I really enjoyed being part of this show.

Q: Don’t you think that some of your films in the lead role were good but failed to capture commercial success?
A: Yes, some of my films in the lead role were really good films. But, as we witness today, the poor distribution of such films fail to reach to the true lovers of Marathi films. Many a times, I was told that the movie would be released at many theatres at a time, but on the release day I noticed its release only in few theatres.

Q: Were you disappointed that ‘Kon Aahe Re Tikade’ inspite of having a good subject, failed to reach the audience?
A: Yes, it was for the same reason of distribution. In fact, in this film I was playing the lead role opposite Subodh Bhave and there were renowned artistes like Mohan Agashe, Sharad Ponkshe, Shubhangi Gokhale and others around.

Q: Even after playing the lead roles, you are nowdays accepting small roles in many Marathi films. Why so ?
A: I feel that the strength of the role and not the length is important. In the past, I was offered such roles where there were few scenes, but considering the importance of those scenes in the film’s screenplay, I have accepted these roles. The best example is recently released film ‘Fakta Ladh Mhana’, where I played a small role of a domestic help. When I was explained the character, I knew that this role would create a big impact in the screenplay. If you have seen the film, you will realise it.

Q: Tell us something about your award winning performance in the film ‘Dhudgus‘ .
A: The film had a very good subject and it was all about injustice on a newly married woman. The film was presented well and I had enough scope to prove my ability through this role of a helpless widow.

Q: We also understand that your forthcoming film ‘Pipaani‘ has a challenging role for you ?
A: Yes, for this role, I should thank well known Cinematographer-Sanjay Jadhav. He suggested me that I should accept this role, though it had only 8 scenes. Kranti Redkar is also in this film and we have one such intense scene together. There is a film being shot into this film with Kranti Redkar playing an actress. After completing this film, I realised that I did the right thing by accepting this role. Thanks to Sanjayda once again.