Priyanka Bose opens up about bagging Jugnuma and limited opportunities after 40

Priyanka Bose’s wish is the universe’s command. After watching Thithi (2016), the actor desired to collaborate with National Award-winning director Raam Reddy. Years later, Reddy sent the script of Jugnuma over to Bose, saying that he had imagined her in the role of Nandini.

“I read the script in the hill station of Panchgani, when we had gone to drop my daughter to a Lonavala hostel. Raam had written the script like a book. It made me travel through the world he had created and spoke to me. Good work is hard to come by for an artiste like me. So, when something of such a crafted nature comes, I’ll be foolish to say no,” she says.

Priyanka Bose

Another wish of Bose that Jugnuma fulfilled was sharing screen space with Manoj Bajpayee, an actor she has admired since his Satya (1998) days. Working with him made her realise how different their styles are. “My approach is technical, and I get wrapped in the nitty-gritty of nuances. Then to observe Manoj, who is so free, is interesting. I have so much more to learn from him. I love his beginner’s mindset,” she shares.

Jugnuma, which did the rounds of many film festivals, also validates Bose as an actor, who observes that the industry cuts short the careers of women after they hit 40. “I’m daring enough to call out all the filmmakers who don’t think about me. I’m telling them, ‘If you’ve not thought about me yet, please do because I’m right here.’ I want to do exciting things that you’ve never seen women do in cinema, because we’re so easy to drop from that shelf. But we created that shelf with you. So, why is there a shelf life for women? In our 40s, we are more explorative and experimental than men ever will be.” 

Raam Reddy, who directed the National Award-winning Kannada film ‘Thithi’ (2016), has helmed ‘Jugnuma’. It is presented by Anurag Kashyap and Guneet Monga Kapoor.