Mumbai-born Jyotika made her Bollywood debut in 1998 with Doli Saja Ke Rakhna. She then spent most of her time in the south, acting predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films.
The 45-year-old actress returned to Hindi films this year with Shaitaan and Srikanth, which was a great surprise to her “because it happened very organically”.
“For 25 years, there was no sound, and suddenly these two films made such noise,” she told the Hindustan Times. “I have obviously returned during the best phase of Indian cinema.
“There is no North-South divide any more and the audience is looking at everything as one. But in Bollywood, I am still waiting for the kind of roles I am used to doing down South.
“I chose to be a part of Shaitaan and Srikanth because they are beautiful stories, but I am looking for more as an actor in terms of the length of my role in a Hindi film.”
Jyotika has actually seen the best and worst of both worlds. When she went to the South, not many people there were watching Hindi films. And in the North, a lot of fun was made of South cinema.
But things have changed.
“On the sets of Shaitaan, me and (actor) R. Madhavan (who is Tamil) were given so much respect,” said Jyotika. “Ajay (Devgn, actor) made us feel equal to him and the team recognised us as big actors from the South, instead of thinking of us as regional actors. We could see love for the South that had penetrated through Bollywood, and it was mutual.”
However, the actress, who is married to Tamil star Suriya, admits that even today, Bollywood often sticks to stereotypical portrayals of South Indians.
“I agree some things are done over the top there,” she told the Hindustan Times. “We love the idli-sambar and we love action films, but sometimes how it is depicted here is definitely overdone.
“We’ve had actors in Hindi also who have had their own style of overdoing things. But Rajinikanth sir has been taken to another level (referring to the mocking of Rajinikanth’s style of acting and memes on his mannerisms).
“It might be done in good spirits, but frankly they do get it wrong most of the time.”
Jyotika said she looked for work in Bollywood after her debut, but it did not work out, and she had to move South.
“It was very upsetting. There were many girls who came in around the time I debuted, including Kareena (Kapoor), Rani (Mukerji) and Preity (Zinta). All of them were introduced by big banners, and so was I, but they were the lucky ones whose films worked, and they went forward.
“I realised it wasn’t working out for me. The game is that you have to have your first film as a blockbuster or a hit. The actor in you is recognised only after that.
“Luckily, I had one film down South. It didn’t do well either, but they recognised my talent. That is a little difference I saw in both industries.”
According to Jyotika, moving to Chennai and then getting married to Suriya made many in Mumbai assume she wasn’t keen on returning to the Hindi film industry.
“People in Bollywood also thought that since I was a South Indian, I didn’t want to do Hindi films anymore,” she told News 18. “It’s not like I refrained from doing a Hindi film. It’s just that I wasn’t offered any script in so many years.”
Rajkummar Rao’s Srikanth marked her second release following her Bollywood comeback with Shaitaan.
But she was worried on the first day of its shoot.
“It was very nostalgic for me to even speak in Hindi because I had left speaking the language a while ago,” she said. “I was very nervous on the first two days. I did a lot of bad acting on the first day. I kept pinching myself that I’m back to Bollywood.”
However, playing a person from South India in Srikanth eased her into the process eventually.
“I was also very emotional because in the film, I had a certain connect with South – what a way it was to restart my journey. I thought it was a beautiful blend of both worlds for me to begin with.”
