Lara Dutta says her ‘sabbatical’ when daughter Saira was born was ‘a blessing in disguise’. Here’s why

Actor Lara Dutta has opened up on her current roles saying that she is finally playing the kind of characters that she has ‘always wanted to portray as an actor’. In a new interview, Lara said that the ‘cohort of women’ between the age of 35-55 was never addressed and nothing was made on them. She also spoke on the roles such as ‘long-sacrificing mother’ or a ‘husband-adoring wife’.

Lara Dutta made her debut in Bollywood with Andaaz in 2003. She has appeared in several films such as Masti (2004), No Entry (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007), Partner (2007), Housefull (2010), Chalo Dilli and Don 2 (2011), Singh Is Bliing (2015), Azhar (2016) and Welcome To New York (2018).

In an interview with Gulf News, Lara said, “Honestly, age has liberated me. Since I have come into my 40s, I am finally doing age-appropriate roles and I am finally playing the kind of characters that I have always wanted to portray as an actor. You know, I’ve never been somebody who’s come into the industry saying that I want to be the leading lady or that I want to be a hero. I wanted to be an actor and we’re finally getting those kinds of roles being written for us. I honestly believe the cohort of women between the ages of 35 and 55 years was never addressed. Nothing was made on them.”

Recalling the usual roles of women in films and serials earlier, Lara added, “Either you play that long-sacrificing mother or that pati-vrata (husband-adoring wife) lady, but that’s such (expletive)! Pardon my French, but you get so tired of being tasked with such roles … At some point when I entered my 30s, I just got tired of playing the same kind of characters. And so that sabbatical when my daughter was born … was a blessing in disguise.”

Speaking on the current roles for women, Lara also said that a decade ago ‘such roles didn’t exist for my predecessor’ adding that she feels ‘incredibly lucky’.

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Meanwhile, Lara is seen in her new web show titled Kaun Banegi Shikharwati. It also features Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Soha Ali Khan, Anya Singh, Kritika Kamra, Cyrus Sahukar and Varun Thakur. Earlier, she was seen in the role of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in BellBottom. She then played a single mother in the web show Hiccups and Hookups.