Madhoo reveals she wrote letters to industry people after deciding to quit films, thought they didn’t deserve her

Madhoo of Roja fame is back with a web series, Sweet Kaaram Coffee, and has now opened up about the reason behind her exit from the film industry after delivering several superhit films in the 90s. She has also opened up about disliking shooting and why she decided to quit. Also read: Madhoo on sexism in films, why she decided to quit: ‘All the heroines at that time were typecast’

Madhoo was recently seen as Menaka in Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer Shaakuntalam.Her Tamil web show Sweet Kaaram Coffee was released on Thursday.

Madhoo said she played good roles in films like Roja (Tamil), Annayya (Kannada) and Yodha (Malayalam) before moving to Mumbai where she mostly worked in Hindi films. She opened up about her film career in a group conversation alongside few other actors like Aishwarya Rajesh, Malavika Mohanan on Maitri: Female First Collective by Amazon Prime.

Talking about shifting to Mumbai, Madhoo said according to Indianexpress.com, “I was part of films in which action heroes were leading… you know nineties… I have no complaints. I danced in a lot of movies. I love to dance. But after doing something like Roja and going back to that… I was totally unhappy about that. When my shooting dates used to come, I was really unhappy. That’s when I decided to quit. Then I wrote a letter to everyone saying I am quitting. The intention was that you all don’t deserve me. It was childhood arrogance though. Later, I realised I am an artiste, and I have to do this. That’s why I came back.”

Madhoo also said she doesn’t have a problem with ageing but not getting appropriate roles is what concerns her. She said, “It is difficult to get a role because I don’t want to do Ajay Devgn’s mother role, which is very probable. We were launched together… we are the same age. But things are changing because Tabu and Devgn did a film in which both were of the same age. That’s why I am extremely grateful for the change the industry has gone through.”

She had made her Bollywood debut with Phool Aur Kaante opposite Ajay Devgn in 1991. Madhoo now has two Malayalam films in pipeline. She has worked in all languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.