Sharmila Tagore in Gulmohar.(courtesy: YouTube)
The latest episode of Karan Johar's chat show Koffee With Karan 8 was all things nice. During the episode, Sharmila Tagore talked about playing a queer character in the film Gulmohar. Speaking of the film, the show's host Karan Johar asked her, "Very happy you did Gulmohar and after a sabbatical of many years, you came and so progressive in the 60s and you played a queer character, did that initially make you wonder, ponder about it or you just jumped right into it?"
Sharmila Tagore said, "In truth, I looked at it and I told Rahul (director Rahul V Chittella)... Will I be accepted? Because there is such a long career and a particular image has been formed but I think the way he has treated the whole film...And also, OTT, I think has normalised a lot of gay relations. So I think that has helped. In fact a lot of people have enjoyed it."
Karan Johar said, "It was very elegant." He added, "It was a lovely film, it was progressive but I was just saying that you have kind of shattered the glass ceiling way back then and you continue to do it. More power to you."
The family drama Gulmohar, also featured Manoj Bajpayee. Directed by Rahul V Chittella, the film released on Disney+ Hotstar this year.
During the episode, Sharmila Tagore also briefly talked about her battle with cancer. "I had offered Sharmila ji the part played by Shabana (Azmi) ji in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. She was my very first choice. Due to health reasons at that time, she couldn't say yes. but it is a regret I have," Karan Johar said during the episode. Sharmila Tagore stated that she wasn't vaccinated then and wanted to be extra careful of her health, especially after her battle with cancer. "This is at the height of Covid. They hadn't really grappled with Covid at that time. They didn't know about the vaccine, we were not vaccinated. You know, (it was) after my cancer. So, they didn't want me to take that risk," she said.