Barkha Sengupta on Shrimati: My character is the stark opposite of Swastika’s character

Arjunn Dutta’s Shrimati is all set to hit the theatre on July 8. The film that features Swastika Mukherjee, Barkha Sengupta, Soham Chakraborty, Trina Saha, Kheya Chattopadhyay and others deals with a woman’s life that gets impacted because of social pressure. Barkha, who plays a high-profile, figure-conscious, socialite, Mallika, talks to us about how the character is different from her real self. 

Shrimati, played by Swastika, is a homemaker who does not worry about her weight or social appeal. The trailer shows how she falls victim to social pressure. Meanwhile, Mallika’s judgment influences her to take drastic measures to change the course of her life. Talking about her character, Barkha says that Mallika cares about society and is very conscious about the way women look. “She is conscious about what she eats. She stays away from oily food and constantly talks about salad. She is a well-maintained, socialising woman who throws parties often and is surprised at the fact that how can a woman only cook and spend days in her house. Mallika is not like the real me at all,” Barkha says.

The trailer also shows how changes in Shrimati’s life make her perennially unhappy as she loses her identity amid her jazzed-up surroundings. The woman, who has lived a happy life within her own world, suddenly finds herself struggling to get hold of the fast-changing realities. Mallika, on the other hand, is just the stark opposite of Shrimati. “Mallika is a glamorous, party-throwing, socialite. She is a young woman who is married to someone who is slightly aged. She cares about society and is very conscious about the way women look. She lives in her own world too. Also, she is generally harmless. It is the way she is programmed that makes her very different from Shrimati,” says Barkha.

Also read: Exclusive! Barkha Sengupta: I use Indraneil’s surname because I am still married in papers 

Presented by Kan Singh Sodha and produced by KSS Productions and Entertainment, Shrimati will release on July 8.