Actress-producer Nehha Pendse is a well-known face both on the small and the big screen. After carving a niche in the Marathi and the Hindi film industries, she is currently seen on the television show Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain, which completed 1700 episodes earlier this month. Pendse, who replaced Saumya Tandon earlier this year as Anita Vibhuti Narayan Mishra, says that initially, not everyone accepted her in Saumya’s place.
“It started with obviously, a lack of acceptance, which was very much expected. Few people accepted me right away, while there was a chunk that did not. But television is a matter of habit. If you are used to seeing an artist playing a particular character for good five years, it’s difficult to replace that mindset immediately. But now that I’ve been consistently in the show for almost 10 months, there is a shift. Definitely, there is an acceptance, and that’s how television operates,” she said about the audience accepting her as the new Anita.
Pendse has been juggling television and cinema for a long time now. Asked whether there is a bias towards television actors entering the films, she said there is, to some extent, however, she has never been on the receiving end.
“Yes, there is a bias and at times I feel it is valid because most of the television actors are very unaware of acting methods, and the reason why they are into television is very different. And when it comes to films, filmmakers who are great in their craft look for artists who are great in their field as well. However, there are a handful of television actors who are good at their craft and get picked up for films,” the Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari actress said.
Nehha recently bagged the Award of the Best Actress at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) for her Marathi film ‘June.’ In the film, her character is coping with her past traumas while she meets an engineer, who is also carrying a burden from his past. Their bond and journey form the crux of the film. Talking about the award for her role, she says that she is feeling grounded because this is the recognition she has been waiting for.
“Rather than being excited, I am feeling very grounded because I feel this is the recognition that I have been wanting for the longest time. I wanted my recognition as an actor beyond my beauty and when you achieve that purpose, with the recognition of an award, you feel that all the hard work is worth it. There is more to me than my beautiful face and somewhere that was not explored. That’s exactly what made me say yes to June.”
