Tillotama Shome: Happy for the International Awards, but Greatest Award was Being Accepted by My Own People

Tillotama Shome, who made her acting debut with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001, got her first international acclaim with the 2013 film Qissa, which was followed by the 2019 film Raahgir – The Wayfarers. In a candid chat with News18.com, the actress shared, “I’m grateful for all the international awards that have come even before with Qissa but I really want to say that being recognized in your own country, and your work being accessed by the people in your country feels wonderful. And I think that with the onset of OTT, and ‘Sir’ being such a big hit among the Indian audience, that really changed the game for me.” “So I am very happy about all the international awards, but the greatest award was being accepted by people from my own country,” she shared. I’m glad that there are people who are telling stories about the worlds that I’ve never been a part of before, characters that have never been offered before.” The actress, who was “So Gaiman has created a powerful female character that criticizes the tendency men have of pedestalizing women and turning them into Goddesses so that they don’t have any freedom or agency. And Calliope cries out in pain in this show and says, ‘I was not born just to be your inspiration.’ It’s a powerful commentary on this idea of a woman being a muse and male voices using a female body for their creative ends, without giving thought to what the woman’s own agency is.” She also said that she believes she should be a part of stories that are not regressive, given that she has the privilege of choosing.