Mahabharat Trivia: Famous actress Varsha Usgaonkar, who played the evergreen character of ‘Uttara’ in Doordarshan’s historical show ‘Mahabharat’ (1988), did not get this role through any audition or screen test, but only because of a coincidence. A year after the start of the show, Varsha had reached the set with her family as a mere spectator to watch the shooting, where seeing her beauty and decency, on-screen ‘Shakuni Mama’ i.e. actor Gufi Paintal directly offered her this big role.
The one who proved her beauty and strong acting skills in Marathi cinema. Varsha Usgaonkar Her father always wanted his daughter to be a part of this television saga. But Varsha had never tried for this. The twist in this story came when a year had passed since the shooting of the serial started.
When the girl who came to watch the shooting got a big role in BR Chopra’s show?
during that time Mahabharata Preparations for the track of young Abhimanyu were going on on the sets of ‘Uttara’ and the makers were looking for a new and innocent face for the character of ‘Uttara’. Then Varsha reached there with her parents just to see the shooting environment. The expert eyes of casting director and actor Gufi Paintal present on the set recognized Varsha as soon as she saw that there could be no one better than her for the role of Uttara. Gufi Paintal immediately talked to her parents and without any screen test, Varsha Usgaonkar became a part of this mega project.
How did you get national stardom overnight?
Varsha Usgaonkar’s entry in ‘Mahabharata’ was not in a normal way, but in a very grand style. Famous Kathak dancer and choreographer Gopi Krishna had designed the classical dance of her entry scene. As soon as Varsha demonstrated Kathak moves on screen, she became famous overnight. This one scene opened the doors of big banners of Bollywood for him.
Varsha, who started her career in Marathi theater and came into limelight with Sachin Pilgaonkar’s film ‘Gammat Jammat’, later became a favorite of the Hindi belt as well. She debuted with Jackie Shroff in ‘Doodh Ka Karz’ (1990) and later worked with superstars like Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Rishi Kapoor in many blockbuster films like ‘Tiranga’, ‘Hatya-The Murder’ and ‘Honeymoon’.
What does Varsha think about the difference between Marathi and Hindi cinema?
During an interview, Varsha had openly talked about the way both the film industries work. He believed that in Marathi cinema, the focus is on content, strong script and deep down to earth characters. In this, importance is given to simplicity and tradition. So the canvas of Bollywood is very big, hence in Hindi cinema, more emphasis is given on glamour, style, looks and screen presence so that it can attract the audience across the country. According to Varsha, working in Hindi films was like a beautiful dream come true for her.
Where is Varsha Usgaonkar now and what is she doing?
Actress Varsha Usgaonkar is still fully active in the art world. Along with acting, he is also an excellent singer. She continues to appear in many projects, plays and shows in Hindi, Marathi and her mother tongue Konkani. This ‘Uttara’ of Mahabharata has also shown her magic in Ritesh Deshmukh’s Marathi Bigg Boss.
Leave a Reply