I can move past rejection very quickly, says actor Tillotama Shome

Playing real women that are hard to forget across genres of cinema has made Tillotama Shome impossible to miss. She made an impact with her short but convincing roles in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001), and Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai (2012). Both characters have become reference points because of her nuanced performance. Shome has also worked in independent cinema from across the world. More than two decades since she began acting in New York and moved to Mumbai, Shome has finally found her place in the sun.

More recently, Shome won accolades for her spirited performances in The Night Manager (2023) remake for Disney + Hotstar, and Lust Stories 2 (2023) on Netflix. In the latter, Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial short, she plays an upmarket single woman in Mumbai voyeuristically watching her domestic help have sex. Shome has also played the antagonist, a complex character, in Delhi Crime 2 (2022). She was also seen in Mentalhood (2020) and Tooth Pari (2023), shows that got steady viewership on OTT. Shome has delivered versatile performances in each series.

“I am terribly excited to come out of the niche cupboard and take a walk down more populated roads. I feel very lucky to have got an opportunity to represent different kinds of women. I feel a sense of responsibility towards them… No matter who they are, I want them to be understood and not judged,” Shome tells YS Life in a conversation.

Her most talked about performance is in The Night Manager, where she plays Lipika Saikia Rao, a RAW officer in charge of running an undercover agent to expose a global arms dealer. In an ensemble cast featuring actors like Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor, and Shobhita Dhulipala, Shome stands out.

Furthermore, she had to fill in the shoes of Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman, who plays her character in the British original.

“Very big shoes (to fill) and they would have never fit me, so I did not watch the original,” Shome reveals. She says that she enjoyed playing Lipika, “...An oddball, she has been straining her neck against the muzzle of bureaucracy…. And she has managed to retain a sense of humour despite it all. It was also fun to do an action sequence directed by a woman (Priyanka Ghose), where the woman prevails!” she recalls, mentioning about the scene where she fights Shelly’s (Anil Kapoor) man.

Shome enjoyed playing Lipika, presenting her methods of dealing with male egos as typically Indian. 

Like her work in The Night Manager, Shome’s intelligence reflects in her interpretation of characters, a trait that isn’t always valued in mainstream Hindi films. Be it Qissa (2013) or Death in the Gunj (2016), she has been versatile and superior in her ability to internalise a character.

Having moved to Mumbai when she was 30, Shome has struggled to find parts in a star-driven film industry. While she has proved her worth over the years, initially the rejections were tough to deal with.

“I remember being replaced for a film at the last minute, and being told that the producers had a change of heart after seeing another actor’s film. I held on to that grief for two years… Absolutely the worst move!”

For Shome, dealing with failure also came with tremendous self-doubt. “Loathing was part of that terrain… but the pandemic found us grappling with the toughest personal challenge and everything changed. All of this was irrelevant... Since then, I have learnt my lessons and have been far less dramatic and can now move past rejection very quickly.”

Sir (2018), a film by Rohena Gera, was dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Shome fondly recollects how “The love from viewers was staggering.” Sir won Shome accolades from both the critics and the audiences, and the Filmfare Critics Best Actress award.

With the explosion of content on OTT platforms, and more writers finding space, Shome is spoilt for choice. Be it shows like Toothpari (2023), Mentalhood (2020), and films like Chintu Ka Birthday (2020), she has had her hands full in the last few years.

While acting remains Tillotama’s calling, she counts on her varied interests in gardening, reading, and travel to keep her grounded. Married to coffee entrepreneur Kunal Ross, she says, living and working in Mumbai for 14 years has helped her find her own tribe.

“Mumbai is a place that I have lived long enough to witness my lows and highs. Made friends who will prop me up but also call out my crap. I am very lucky to have many who nourish my life in this city, but also outside. I would like to keep my walls as porous as possible and not get hard and rigid.”