‘Naseeruddin Shah told me to stop colouring my hair, work offers decreased after that,' says Ratna Pathak: ‘I was in the dadi-nani category'

Indian Express

6 days ago

The entertainment industry is often considered to be extremely vain, especially when it comes to actors' appearances. Cosmetic surgeries, fillers, botox are considered regular by those who are trying to preserve their youth on screen. So when actor Ratna Pathak decided to not colour her hair and embrace her age, it seemed like a strong statement. In a recent interview, Ratna opened up about her decision and shared that she was encouraged by her husband, actor Naseeruddin Shah, to not colour her hair. She shared that while this move reduced her opportunities, it helped her with accepting the 'inevitabilities of life.'
In a chat with BBC News Hindi, Ratna was asked about her signature hairstyle that she has now maintained for over a decade. She shared, 'I had no plans of setting this as my hairstyle, but I had plans of having grey hair. It's not like I thought about it a lot. In fact, I won't lie that sometimes I got annoyed also but overall, this was a profitable idea.'
She shared that actors find it very difficult to embrace and accept their age. 'The inevitabilities of your life… How long can you stay away from them? And if you try to fight against them, you start appearing foolish. That's my opinion,' she said. Ratna added that the idea to embrace the natural colour of her hair came from her husband Naseeruddin. 'Naseer had a role in this. He told me to stop colouring my hair and I can't tell you what a release it is. It was difficult, my work offers started decreasing because the male actors who can work opposite me, they are still colouring their hair,' she said.
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She then laughed and shared that she found herself in the 'dadi-nani (grandmother)' category and in an industry where even lead female actors aren't getting good parts, what can one expect from 'dadi-nani' roles. 'Now I was in the dadi-nani category, and what roles do dadi-nani have in our films?' she asked and added, 'But despite that, I have gotten good roles with white hair so I feel this acceptance of humanness is very essential for an actor.'
Ratna was last seen in 2023's Dhak Dhak. She is best known for her work in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.