Archana Puran Singh on doing C-grade films to survive: 'I had to put bread on the table'

Archana admitted that being the primary earner early in her marriage came with emotional complexities she didn’t fully recognize at the time. “When I married you, I was like, ‘Yes, I am the one who is earning,’” she said, recalling her feelings of pride and responsibility. But she also acknowledged a deeper internal conflict: “Somewhere I had repressed my feminine side, which wanted someone to provide, which wanted me to lean on someone and look up to him, just like my mother looked up to my father.” She confessed that this left her sending mixed signals to Parmeet as she navigated her dual roles as provider and partner.

Archana was unapologetically honest about the professional decisions she made in that period. “Another mantra of mine is, I never say no to work. Now I have started saying no to some work,” she said, explaining how necessity often overrode artistic choice. “The result of that was that I did very bad films. I did C‑grade films. Because my mindset was to put bread and butter on the table.” She added that at times she felt frustrated, thinking, “At that time, I felt like if you had stepped up, I wouldn’t have had to do that work.”

Parmeet Sethi shares his perspective

Parmeet, sharing his perspective, explained that he was younger and still finding his footing in the industry. “At that time, my point of view was that your career had already played out, but my career was forming, and I thought that if I take one misstep, then I would be completely out of the industry. I was trying to become the hero for the longest time,” he said. To this, Archana responded playfully but poignantly, “I also wanted to become a heroine,” highlighting how both had aspirations shaped by their different career stages. “But you were seven years elder to me and ahead of me in career,” Parmeet added.

Looking back, Archana said she learned to adapt rather than resent her choices. “I diversified. I became an anchor, a comic lady, I did side roles, bad films, C‑grade films, cheap films, but I retained my dignity,” she reflected. “In all of that, if I would not have maintained my dignity, I would not have been where I am today.”

Archana and Parmeet, married for over three decades and parents to two sons, now seem to find strength and humor in the shared memories of their early years, embracing both the struggles and the lessons they brought.

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