#WhereAreThey Series: Sadly films stayed away from me, says Pooja Ruparel aka Chutki from DDLJ

Pooja Ruparel’s life changed overnight after playing Kajol’s teenage sister, the spunky, vivacious Chutki in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Before that, she had starred in The King Uncle (1992) starring Jackie Shroff and Shah Rukh Khan. While Cutki’s role is still etched in people’s minds, the former child actor has not had an active career in the film industry due to the dearth of good opportunities.

“The other day I was hanging out with friends and they called my character (in DDLJ) ‘cult’. It is heartening to know that my character lives on even after so many years. It was very different from what other children were playing at that time,” says Ruparel, now 40.

She adds that as the years passed, everything just seemed “more surreal” to her. “I always tried to be as normal as possible growing up and doing what normal kids do. Even I have to admit it that this (character) was far from normal,” gushes the actor.

One would expect that after being part of such an iconic film, she would have transitioned into a busy actor as an adult. However if not totally away, the actor has not been active in the film industry.

“It is a misconception that I stayed away from films. Sadly, films stayed away from me. It is just about good work. Not doing work for the heck of it,” she adds.

Ruparel, who appeared in films such a X: Past Is Present (2015) and Amit Sahni Ki List (2014), continues, “I haven’t stayed away from acting. I have stayed away from bad work. My whole life [I’ve stayed away fro work], any kind of work that is regressive. When I was growing up there was no parallel cinema. Even now, I am waiting to be part of the film industry.”

Stating that she didn’t want to do just run-of-the-mill stuff, she adds, “I have done my Masters degree in psychology. I’d be a hypocrite to do the saas bahu daily soap kind of films. I want to do work that resonated with me and made sense to and something that added to the social fabric and not some rubbish.”

Branching out a little further in the entertainment industry, Ruparel has forayed into something she considers “more challenging” — stand-up comedy, a field she enjoys a lot.

The actor explains, “Anger drove me to comedy. I was ranting one day and my friend told me I was really funny when I am angry. It is very hard to do comedy, much harder than drama. It was a challenge for me at that time to see if I can express myself in the least possible words.”

But at the end of the day, a good script is what she is looking forward to. “While waiting for good acting work to happen, I explored 5 different careers. Currently, I am writing something which I would like to present to an OTT. I am also just getting over the grief of the loss of my mother and grandmother. I lost then both in a span of 36 days last year. Time is very relative when you are in a state of grief,” she ends.