Latest news with #RadhikaApte
Time of India
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Radhika Apte Discusses Challenges of Motherhood: The Hindi Film Industry's Compatibility with Moms
Motherhood has a way of shifting priorities, but for , it's also pulled back the curtain on a long-ignored truth: Is the Hindi film industry compatible for mothers? Being a hands-on parent Radhika is also trying to hold space for her creative life. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Excerpts of the interview are as followed... ' We have no nanny and no night nurse' Now a mother, Radhika describes this phase as both overwhelming and extraordinary. Ask her if becoming a mother has changed her creative lens and Radhika, as candid as she gets, replies, "Five and a half months is a very small time to give you that answer. I'm still in the thick of it," she answers as she speaks to us from London. "We live in London, we believe in doing stuff on our own. So, we have zero help. We have no nanny, no night nurse, no cook, nobody. We do everything on our own. So, it's been very hectic, but we like it. Babies famously don't sleep. Every day is different, to be honest with you. It's been incredible and it's been very hard at the same time so far. You do look at world from a very different lens because you have a child now," she adds. Radhika Apte opens up about her motherhood journey, says she was prepared for "postpartum depression" ' Not a lot of mothers with babies can possibly work in our industry' However, while she is still finding her foot as a mother, she has deduced something on the work front. "With work, what has definitely changed, is now I've realized that how we work in India is just never going to be a possibility for me. Because in India a normal shift is minimum 12 hours. That doesn't include makeup. So, with hair and makeup it's about 13 hours, plus the travel. And no shoot finishes on time. That's 15 hours plus when it doesn't finish up on time. I've shot mostly for 16 -18 hours in my life. And that's just never a possibility anymore. I can't do it because if I do that, I'll never get to see my daughter. So, I've just realized that that's impossible. So, I must have different terms in my contracts now and a lot of people are going to have problems with that. That's made me wonder - there's so many women on film sets. We talk about gender equality and there's so many women in lots of departments. Then I want to know how many of them have children. Because it's assumed in our culture that it's okay for men not to see their children. But mothers can't afford to do that. So not a lot of mothers with babies can possibly work in our industry. Unless they have their babies dragged on set. So, I was just like, 'Wow, this is going to have to change how I work'. I have two projects that I'm about to sign and I'm gonna have to change how the contracts read. But that's really been an eye opener for me," the Andhadhun actress elaborates. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ' I don't feel like I've just completely gotten myself buried under mother duties' Through it all, Radhika finds strength in the shared load at home—something she and her partner, musician , have committed to wholeheartedly. "We're trying to find a balance. I realize that it's a longer process because every day is different. However, cliched this line is, it's actually true. Every single day is different. The baby's needs change, the baby's sleep changes, your emotion change. Everything changes every day. But we are trying to find that. We both have not given up what we need, and we give each other time to do that. I don't feel like I've just completely gotten myself buried under mother duties. I'm not completely sacrificing my entire self for it. And my partner and I share everything, like absolutely everything. We're so equal in, in how we are raising her. It's been really lovely to learn to get to know your partner better," she states. Fresh off a wave of festival acclaim for Sister Midnight , Radhika shares, "We've had really great reviews everywhere. It's actually very validating." She admits she is "Not sure how it will do theatrically". " I'm very excited to see what happens because it's so different," she signs off.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Radhika Apte opens up on her life as a new mother: It's incredible but also very hard
Radhika Apte gave a shocker to her fans last year when she attended the premiere of her film Sister Midnight at the BFI London Film Festival. The actor came at the red carpet flaunting a baby bump for the first time, and now that the film has recently released in India, Radhika Apte is enjoying talking about it. Living in London, the actor was away from the limelight, and she even gave birth to her daughter with husband Benedict Taylor, away from all the attention in December 2024. Ask her if it felt empowering being able to share her news on her own terms, and a nonchalant Radhika says, 'Not really. It came out because of work only, otherwise nobody would have known. I had to attend the premiere, and I was pregnant. So, people found out. I didn't really care though. If it would have come out early or later, it wouldn't have mattered. I was never going to announce that 'oh, I'm pregnant'. The bump was a very visible cue.' But the actor insists that she is loving getting to enjoy this beautiful phase of her life away from the cameras. 'It has been refreshing. I just love not being looked at constantly; that's quite liberating. I'm not somebody who's heavily on social media or takes selfies or pictures of everything. So, it's been nice to not look at yourself from a camera lens, because what happens in that situation is that you start thinking about yourself from the lens. It's really helping me get my focus back into my own body and mind,' she says. However, Radhika adds that not having work during her pregnancy wasn't a conscious choice: 'I did not work because I couldn't. There was no offer or roles for me with the body I had at the moment.' But she is enjoying exploring this phase of motherhood as she gushes, 'It's a little early to say because it's so brand new and fresh, but it's incredible and amazing, and also very hard. I'm new to this motherhood, but it's going great so far.' Has she witnessed any change in herself as a mum and she quips, 'I don't have the brain power to think about it. I'm on barely two to three hours of sleep every night, so I really don't know. I don't have the time to self-reflect. But hopefully in a few years I'll find it.' Ask her if the kind of offers coming her way have changed post motherhood and Radhika says, 'There's some good and a lot of crap offers, so it's a mixture. But some good work has always come my way at any time. So, I'm lucky with that. I can say that I'll be back to work in Hindi soon.'
News18
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Radhika Apte Says Film Industry Isn't Supportive Of New Mothers: 'It's Really Difficult To...'
Last Updated: Radhika Apte says the film industry isn't conducive to the needs of new mothers, calling it 'really difficult' to balance long shoots with motherhood. Radhika Apte may have returned to work just a week after giving birth, but she's the first to admit that the Indian film industry isn't built to support women like her. Speaking from London while caring for her six-month-old daughter, Apte offered a candid perspective on the challenges new mothers face in showbiz. 'I don't think they are," she said when asked if the film industry is conducive to the needs of new moms. 'I don't know how I'm going to navigate that going ahead." Her comments come at a time when conversations around maternity in the entertainment business are gaining traction. Just this week, Deepika Padukone was reported to have exited Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit, allegedly due to requests for shorter, more manageable work hours post-pregnancy. Meanwhile, actor-producer Ajay Devgn claimed at a trailer launch that eight-hour workdays were becoming the norm for 'people at large," not just mothers. But Radhika isn't so sure. 'It's really difficult to work in our film industry, given the number of hours and how we film generally, and the time for which we don't get to see the child," she explained. 'So I guess I'll just have to figure it out now." This struggle isn't just theoretical for her. Radhika worked through her pregnancy, turning in a writing draft the day before she went into labour, and was back on Zoom calls for virtual meetings within a week of delivery—one of which she attended while breastfeeding, a moment she captured in a photo shared last December. On the work front, Radhika Apte's latest film Sister Midnight is set to hit Indian theatres on May 30. The film, which originally premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, features Radhika as Uma, a bold, rebellious woman challenging societal norms, particularly those around arranged marriage. The cast also includes Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam, Smita Tambe, and Navya Sawant. Sister Midnight was released in the US on May 16 and is slated for a French release on June 11. Radhika was last seen in a cameo in Merry Christmas, starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. First Published:
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Radhika Apte feels film industry isn't conducive to needs of new mothers: ‘I don't know how I'm going to navigate it going forward'
Radhike Apte announced her pregnancy last year while walking the red carpet at the BAFTA Awards, where her British film, Karan Kandhari's black comedy Sister Midnight, was nominated in the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer category. The film, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival last May, released across the UK and the US later in 2024. This week, as Sister Midnight finally makes its way to Indian cinemas, Radhika's daughter is six months old. Last December, a week after her birth, Radhika shared a picture of her attending a virtual work meeting while breastfeeding her baby. In fact, she was busy writing through her pregnancy and submitted her draft just a day before she went into labour. That makes her 'maternity leave' just a week-long. As she tends to her baby in London, Radhika Apte speaks to SCREEN virtually and answers whether the film industry is conducive to the needs of new mothers like her. 'I don't think they are. I don't know how I'm going to navigate that going ahead,' she says. Her confession comes in the same week where there's an ongoing discourse around how actors, who are also new moms, are finding it tough to resume work. Deepika Padukone reportedly walked out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Spirit, and one of the concerns was her asking for eight-hour shifts instead of longer ones. Actor-producer Ajay Devgn defended the industry at the trailer launch event of his production Maa by claiming that not even new mothers, but people at large are enjoying shorter, eight-hour shifts now. Apte, speaking to us, reiterated why she's finding it difficult to balance work and new motherhood. 'It's really difficult to work in our film industry, given the number of hours and how we film generally, and the time for which we don't get to see the child. So I guess I'll just have to figure it out now,' she says. Coupled with that, Radhika has also been dividing her time between India and London for years. She's always had a love-hate relationship with Mumbai, although she now claims it's home, like other cities she regularly frequents. 'It was difficult to adjust in Mumbai when I first moved there. Any other big city does that to you. At the moment, Mumbai is home. I have multiple homes now, in London, Pune, and Mumbai. I love Mumbai for its spirit, and the friends and family there. But I do struggle with the lack of green space in Mumbai, I have to say,' she adds. Even before motherhood, Radhika Apte wasn't getting the kind of roles she wanted to see herself play. That prompted her to switch to screenwriting. She's previously directed The Sleepwalkers, a short film starring Gulshan Devaiah and Shahana Goswami, which is available to stream on MUBI. 'I'm tired of acting because you don't necessarily get the kind of work you want. I'm tired of doing the same thing or doing things just for the sake of it. So I'm becoming a little choosy with what I said yes to,' admits Radhika. 'Writing started because of that. I thought I'd write subjects I want to deal in because they weren't coming to me as an actor. But when I started writing, I really enjoyed it. I didn't expect that because I'd never written before. So that's why I want to explore it further,' she adds. On the acting front, Radhika will be next seen in Dharmaraj Shetty's revenge thriller show Akka on Netflix India and Justin Lin's American film Last Days, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. As Radhika Apte explores work across formats, genres and languages, she doesn't want to get stuck in a structure, like her character Uma in Sister Midnight. 'Sister Midnight is about a small-town misfit who became an accidental outlaw. That's what fascinated me about the film,' she says. In the film, Uma enters an arranged marriage, after which she finds herself change in the most bizarre, supernatural way possible. Was it fun to break out of the demure homemaker mould, one that she popularly embraced in R Balki's 2018 hit Pad Man? 'There's nothing wrong with playing a demure homemaker. It was never my intention to play a badass. It's about the character, the arc, and the story you're trying to tell,' she says, adding, 'The emotional transformation is the acceptance of who she is. She discovers herself after becoming an outlaw. That self-discovery is very relatable. It's not about womanhood. It's applicable to any individual who finds discomfort in adjusting to a structure or a society.' Also Read — Sister Midnight movie review: Radhika Apte film is a bizarro-serio-comedy like no other Radhika admits she, like many others, often finds herself stuck in a structure. More often than not, she rebels against the system, but over the years, has also found herself conforming. 'There are certain things I cannot change. I don't have a rulebook so I feel I should pick battles. When I feel my voice is going to matter, I say it. When I feel it won't, I choose to do without it,' says the actor.
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sister Midnight Movie Review: Amid the chaos of a surreal, plotless experiment, Radhika Apte stands tall
Story: Uma, a headstrong small-town woman, moves to Mumbai after an arranged marriage but feels out of place. Restless and trapped, she undergoes a wild transformation that breaks society's rules. Review: 'Sister Midnight' is one of those films that's hard to describe without resorting to words like 'bizarre,' 'surreal,' or simply 'what did I just watch?' From the very first frame, it throws you into a world that's chaotic, wild, and often confounding. On the surface, it's about a newlywed woman battling loneliness and frustration—but any attempt to explain the plot beyond that feels futile. This Radhika Apte-led British production is less interested in telling a story and more in creating an experience—one that's metaphor-heavy and deliberately unsettling. There are moments in the film that really grab you—strange little scenes that linger in the mind—but trying to piece them together into a coherent whole is a losing game. It's clearly an experimental film, packed with long, static shots and an almost maddening sense of stillness that dares you to stay with it. If you're someone who enjoys decoding metaphor and swimming through ambiguity, there's something here for you. If you're after a narrative that makes sense from start to finish, you might struggle. The story follows Uma (Radhika Apte), a new bride who moves into her husband Gopal's (Ashok Pathak) cramped home in a slum. She's temperamental, clueless about running a household, loves smoking, and speaks to her husband mostly in commands. Her only real support is a kind neighbour. Eventually, boredom pushes her into taking a cleaning job, which is when things start to spiral. She kills a goat and dumps it in a pile of trash. Then, it's birds. Later, during an awkward attempt at intimacy, her husband dies—and she casually keeps the corpse in the house. The events become increasingly surreal: a visit to a monastery, a train journey, and finally, a strange chase scene involving goats. It's dreamlike, absurd, and tough to pin down. The one thing that keeps it all from collapsing is Radhika Apte. She's in practically every frame and is terrific—layered, unpredictable, and completely convincing as a woman gradually losing her grip. Her performance gives the film a strange sort of grounding. Ashok Pathak plays her husband with a quiet, believable helplessness and proves once again that he's an actor to watch. Chhaya Kadam, in a brief role as the neighbour, is understated and effective. Tonally, the film sits somewhere between black comedy and fever dream. There's a certain reckless energy in how it moves—from one weird scene to the next—that keeps you watching, even if you're not always sure why. The cinematography is striking and helps build a mood that's equal parts grimy and hypnotic. But there's no getting around the fact that much of it is repetitive and, at times, exhausting. The use of foreign music tracks might come across as inventive, but their relevance is often hard to figure out. Ditto for a scene from 'The Seven Samurai' playing on TV at a chai shop—interesting, yes, but what's the point? At its core, 'Sister Midnight' doesn't follow a traditional plot structure. It thrives on moments, mood, and metaphor. If you like your cinema strange and symbolic, it has something to offer. But if you're looking for a clear beginning, middle, and end, this one might just leave you bewildered.
