Ratna Pathak Shah is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in Hindi theatre, television and films. She rose to prominence when she appeared in the hit TV serial Idhar Udhar in the 1980’s. She garnered widespread recognition and acclaim with her portrayal of Maya Sarabhai, a snobbish socialite, in the cult sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai she has also been a part of the road adventure drama Dhak Dhak in 2023, all of which earned her nominations for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is married to actor Naseeruddin Shah and has two sons.
In a recent interaction with Lallantop, Ratna shed light on how they manage to maintain their professional relationships and friendships despite differing viewpoints. She said, “We all grew up at a time when two people can be friends but also have different ideologies. You’re right in your place; I’m right in mine. There’s dialogue, discussion, and even disagreement, but that doesn’t cause a rift in interpersonal relations. This is a more recent trend. This is neither our country’s culture nor I’ve seen anything like this before.”Reflecting on her upbringing, Ratna Pathak Shah shared a personal anecdote about her parents, who came from starkly different political backgrounds. She said, “I was born in a home where my father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family. There was constant debate and argument at our home, but still, we all lived together. I know that disagreement with an opinion doesn’t mean dislike of a person. This is a very new phenomenon: if you don’t agree with me, then you should be cancelled. This isn’t our culture; at least it’s not my culture, nor that of anyone I know.
“Ratna expressed concern over the current cultural climate, where disagreements often lead to cancellations and hostility. She emphasized that this behaviour is neither reflective of India’s cultural heritage nor her personal experience.”They’re making us Indians fight with each other like kids do in the school playground. How bullies ill-treat weaker kids. Do we want to be like them? No. I won’t become one, nor will I let my kids become them either. Whoever I have an influence on, I’ll tell them, ‘We cannot become bullies.’ We have to become cultured human beings. That’s our culture,” she added. Despite the ideological differences, Ratna Pathak Shah and Paresh Rawal have successfully shared screen space, notably in Abhishek Jain’s 2021 family comedy Hum Do Hamare Do. Additionally, Ratna portrayed Anupam Kher’s wife in Prashant Nair’s Netflix India show Trial By Fire last year.
This act of this couple, Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah, is a great example of professionalism and in times when the film industry is seen through the lens of its political undercurrents, this amount of understanding and respect for the talent of other co-actors is commendable and needs to be appreciated
