'I rely on my friends who are my unpaid therapists'

In a yellow salwar kameez and ponytail Sarika is free of makeup and radiant ldquoI donrsquot wear makeup even for my filmsrdquo when we pay her a visit Among the first things she says is ldquoI hate to be slottedrdquo Even if she remains an underutilised actress we ask She stops sipping her black coffee and quips ldquoAh thatrsquos an observation not a slotrdquo Sarika does everything with archetypal passion she gets so engrossed in the conversation that she doesnrsquot notice when her expensive cellphone falls off the table She discusses her new film Club 60 her daughters her years as a child actor her state of career and mind Sarika would like to do at least three good films a year but she says roles are hard to come by for women her age Why was Farooque Sheikh not paired with you when you were both younger We were doing different cinema He was doing Sai Paranjpye films And honestly I think Sai never liked me laughs Both Sai and you belong to the lighteyed club There should have been an affinity Agar aankhon se career chalte toh phir kya baat thi It would be great if careers were made by eyes Do you play a 60yearold in Club 60 You are still several years away from that milestone No The film has two tracks Farooque Sheikh and I play a couple whose marriage threatens to fall apart because he finds it more difficult to deal with the death of their young son than I do The other track is about Club 60 whose senior members have a riot and help Farooq come to terms with his emotional problems Itrsquos a happy film that says one must celebrate life despite all adversities Do you agree I absolutely share this philosophy In real life would you join a club to handle an emotional crisis No I would rather rely on my friends who are my unpaid therapists We are all familiar with loss Which loss is more difficult to handle one caused by death or one caused by voluntary separation when someone moves out of your life Death makes you feel helpless because the person is not going to be physically present hereafter It snatches away someone you loved and that really hurts But you canrsquot do anything about it The loss of someone moving away from your life is more difficult to cope with because if one were to just pick up the phone and says ldquoLet it berdquo it would make a big difference Unfortunately our ego stops us The person you are today is because of your collective past experiences When someone moves away it leaves pain in its wake Has your personality been shaped by the fact that you began acting at the age of four Tremendously It was traumatic it still is for child actors You are exposing the child to emotions that are irregular In Humraaz I was a toddler who witnesses a murder The feelings associated with the experience have stayed with me Ideally one should counsel child actors and see whether they have the emotional capability to deal with the roles they enact How do you look back on your years as a young actress in the 1970s and lsquo80s I remember a few choice films like Geet Gaata Chal Anpadh and Basu Bhattacharyarsquos Grihapravesh Then you didnrsquot have the luxury of choosing your roles unlike today But even after the National Award win you remain underutilised Itrsquos wonderful to have the ability to choose I would love to do three good films in a year but there are talented actresses aplenty It may be politically incorrect to say this but we are still a maledominated industry There is a paucity of roles for women my age So acting remains important to you Itrsquos integralhellip like my books though I have had no formal education Just the other day I was sharing with my daughter Akshara ldquoEverybody may come and go in your life but you always have your workrdquo For 18 years I chose to work behind the camera But when I came back to face the camera my work smiled and said ldquoSee I am the one who gives you happinessrdquo Both of your daughters have now turned to acting For a long time my daughter Akshara didnrsquot want to act though I knew she would make a very good actress However now she has decided to do R Balkirsquos film Shruti is a good actress and is doing well and she is blessed when it comes to singing In Club 60 Farooque eventually comments that he finds the noise of the city bearable now Have your inner noises been quelled If any actor says there are no voices in his head he is lying We do become a tad crazy While shooting there are two voices in your head the onscreen characterrsquos and your own But when you return home you have to learn to shush that voice Whatrsquos a typical day in your life like If Akshara wakes up late she sees me cooking And if she wakes up on time she sees me doing jhaadu pota sweeping before the maid arrives But I also need my own time In the morning when I wake up I read I write I donrsquot like talking to anyone before I have had my six cups of tea