Vidula Javalgekar (78), who is a PhD scholar and was a Hindi teacher, has at this age decided to venture into a new profession - films.
Javalgekar has received critical acclaim for her acting skills in Deepa Mehta's Water, where she played the role of a widow named Patiraji. She is now receiving many offers from various Bollywood directors and has recently finished shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey. Here she plays Priyanka Chopra's grandmother.
"Acting in films is a kind of re-incarnation for me," said Javalgekar, who dreams of writing a film script. She still remembers her first role in Rajkumar Santoshi's Khaki in 2003. Her co-star in that shot was Akshay Kumar. "It was a small, but a sweet role shot near Kondhwa," Javalgekar said.
However, she got famous after she acted in Water. The film was shot in Sri Lanka and released in 27 countries. Critics from the Toranto International Film Festival had praised Javalgekar for essaying the role of an obsessed widow in the film. Javalgekar lives with her husband in Kothrud. She has acted in two Marathi films Sangeet Savitri Akhyan and Gandh. She is also playing a role in a film based on Dadasaheb Phalke.
