My mother-in-law is my biggest fan: Shweta Tripathi

Actress Shweta Tripathi, who got married earlier this year to rapper Chaitnya Sharma aka SlowCheeta, says she is very fortunate to have supportive in-laws. In fact, she says her mother-in-law is her biggest fan.

Shweta, who recently appeared in two web series "The Trip" and "Mirzapur", told IANS here: "I think more than my husband, my mother-in-law gets excited and proud and what not whenever she sees me on-screen.

"I want to say that she is my biggest fan (laughs) -- whether it is my film or my web series, she and my brother-in-law are the two family members who would watch the show and give me feedback. I think I am really fortunate that I have got a family like this after marriage."

She added: "People should always support each other in a profession like ours where we have so much emotional investment. As a performing artiste, we always need love and support from family."

Having started her career in television with the show "Kya Mast Hai Life", Shweta gained popularity with the film "Masaan" and acted in films like "Love Shots", "Haraamkhor", "Beautiful World" and was part of "Zoo", the first ever Indian feature film that was shot on iPhone.

Asked if she consciously looks for meaty roles as opposed to visibility in commercial cinema, Shweta said: "Whether the role is of 2 minutes, 2 episodes or a full length two hour feature film on me, the story has to appeal me as an audience. I cannot do a film just because it is commercial and I will get wide exposure by doing that film."

Remembering the words of one of her co-stars, National Award-winning actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, she said: "My first feature film was 'Haraamkhor'. It released after 'Masaan'.

"During the shooting of the film, Nawaz sir said that if we want to have a long-lasting career, we have to be choosy with our work, which should hold archival value and quality. Somewhere that thing has got ingrained in my mind. So, I can go easy."

Being an actress who has never had any inhibitions about portraying characters that are sexually liberated, Shweta believes an actor should not be judged by her on-screen image.

Shweta's masturbation scene in the Amazon Prime web series "Mirzapur" has been much talked about.

Asked about what gives her the confidence to carry out such a bold portrayal of a character, she said: "In such a situation, I have to trust the writer, director and cinematographer completely.

"I have to understand the need of the scene in the script because it is not about saying 'yes' or 'no' to a bold scene for the sake of it. It is about telling a story the way it deserves to be told."

"Justification of every scene is needed," she asserted.

--IANS

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