Exclusive With Deepti Naval
Old is Gold Segment – Deepti Naval: Deepti Naval is a Versatile and Renowned Indian Actress, Director, Writer, Painter, and Poet who has worked in Hindi and other Indian languages. She is most recognized for her parts in art films portraying the changing position of women in India. Junoon, Chashme Buddoor, Saath Saath, Katha, Kamla, Ankahee, Bawandar, Firaaq, and Listen… Amaya is one of her major films.
During my trip to Uttarakhand, I had the honor of meeting with the Great and legendary Deepti Naval. She was a special guest at the Dehradun Film Festival, where she screened her new film Goldfish. She has a wonderful personality, appears much younger than her age, and exudes grace and charm. She took us on her complete path, from her Junoon debut to her current work as an actress, director, writer, painter, and poet. She also shared some details about her upcoming memoir, A Country Called Childhood, which I am very excited to read. Interacting with such a talented and accomplished artist was a memorable and inspirational experience.
Deepti Naval is a timeless beauty who defies age and appears to be between the ages of 20 and 25. She serves as an inspiration to both aspiring and established artists.
She was born on February 3, 1952, in Amritsar, Punjab, and migrated to New York City with her family in 1971. She studied fine arts at Hunter College before making her Hindi film debut in 1978 with Shyam Benegal’s Junoon. From 1985 to 2002, she was married to filmmaker Prakash Jha and had a daughter named Disha Jha. She is also an accomplished poet, having released a collection of poetry titled Lamha-Lamha.
Deepti Naval Acting Career
Deepti Naval is a well-known Hindi and other Indian language actress, director, writer, painter, and poet. She is most recognized for her parts in art films depicting the changing position of women in India. She is also the first Indian-American actress to make her Bollywood debut.
Her acting career began in 1978 with Shyam Benegal’s film Junoon. Two years later, she received her first Best Actor award for her performance in Ek Baar Phir. She rose to prominence in 1980s parallel cinema, appearing in films including as Kamla, Ankahee, Mirch Masala, and Main Zinda Hoon. She also had a memorable on-screen partnership with Farooq Sheikh, with whom she appeared in several films like Chashme Buddoor, Saath Saath, Katha, and Rang Birangi.
She was quite productive in the 1980s, but her career stalled in the 1990s. She dabbled in various arts, such as painting, writing, and directing. She returned in the 2000s with social dramas such as Bawandar and Firaaq, and she was nominated for Best Actress at numerous international film festivals for her roles in Leela, Memories in March, and Listen… Amaya. She was also named a Tribute Honoree of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in 2007.
She has also performed in other Indian languages such as Punjabi, Kannada, Marathi, and Odia. Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish, Thoda Sa Aasmaan, and Panchvati are her four films. She is the author of three books: Lamha Lamha, Black Wind and Other Poems, and The Mad Tibetan: Stories from the Past and Present. In addition, she is working on a memoir titled A Country Called Childhood.
Deepti Naval is a versatile and recognized artist whose talent and compassion have enriched Indian cinema and culture. Many budding performers and filmmakers look up to her.
What are some of her paintings and poems called?
The Silent Scream, The Mad Tibetan, The Blue Door, The Red Wall, and The Woman in the Window are some of her paintings. Some of these can be found on her YouTube channel or on her website. Black Wind, Lamha Lamha, Aaj Phir, Ek Chidiya, and Mumbai Meri Jaan are some of her poems.
Some of these can be found in her books Black Wind and Other Poems and Lamha Lamha. On her YouTube channel, she also reads some of her poems. An example of one of her poems is given below:
Mumbai my love in your lanes I spent my childhood on your roads I saw myself growing up in your rains I found my love
Mumbai my love in your splendor I did my work in your gatherings I made my name in your embrace I made my home
Mumbai my love in your troubles I increased my courage in your crowd I forgot my loneliness in your life I learned to live
Mumbai my love in your happiness I made my heart happy in your pain I hid my tears with you I kept my promise
Mumbai my love in your light I saw my dream in your darkness I erased my fear in your eyes I saw my reflection
Mumbai my love Your every moment is my every moment Your every day is my every day Your every year Is my every year
Mumbai my love You are because I am because you are
Deepti Naval Black Wind and Other Poems
Deepti Naval’s collection of 50 poems reflects her particular poetic sensibility and rhythm, passion, and pictures. There are four portions to the poems: Black Wind, The Mad Tibetan, The Woman in the Window, and Lamha Lamha. Love, loss, longing, identity, loneliness, and spirituality are among the themes explored in the poetry.
They also depict her personal journey in India and abroad as an artist and a woman. MapinLit / Mapin Publishing released the book in 2004 as a hardcover version with 115 pages. Some of her poetry can also be found on her website or on her YouTube channel. Here’s an example of a poem from the book:
Black wind Blowing through my hair Black wind Blowing through my soul Black wind Blowing through my life Black wind Blowing me away
Black wind Carrying my dreams Black wind Carrying my fears Black wind Carrying my hopes Black wind Carrying me away
Black wind Whispering in my ears Black wind Whispering in my heart Black wind Whispering in my mind Black wind Whispering me away
Black wind Where are you taking me? Black wind What are you showing me? Black wind Why are you haunting me? Black wind Who are you really?
Old is Gold Segment – Deepti Naval: Deepti Naval Books
Deepti Naval has written three books so far. They are:
Lamha Lamha is a collection of poems published in 1981.
Black Wind and Other Poems, another collection of poems published in 2004.
The Mad Tibetan: Stories from Then and Now, a collection of short stories published in 2011.
Deepti Naval awards for painting and poetry
Deepti Naval has received one award for poetry and none for art. In 2010, she received the Best Screenplay prize at the New York Indian Film Festival for her directorial debut, Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish. This video was inspired by her poem of the same name. She has also written two poetry collections, Lamha Lamha and Black Wind and Other Poems, and has performed some of her poems on her YouTube channel.
She also enjoys painting and photography and has had several of her paintings displayed at various art events. However, as far as I am aware, she has not garnered any accolades for her paintings. She claims that writing and painting represent her in real life, whereas acting represents another person’s vision.
Deepti Naval has directed four movies so far. They are:
Manisha Koirala, Rajit Kapur, and Sanaj Naval feature in the drama film Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish (2009). An aged prostitute, a gay songwriter, and an abandoned child make an unexpected family in the film. In 2009, the film received the Best Director award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
Thoda Sa Aasmaan (2004), a Doordarshan television serial. The series centered on the lives and problems of four women from various backgrounds in a male-dominated society. Deepti Naval, Renuka Shahane, Kiran Karmarkar, and Varun Badola appeared in the show.
Panchvati (1996), is a television film based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel. The plot of the film revolves around a young woman who is married to an older man and falls in love with his younger sibling. Deepti Naval, Vinod Khanna, and Milind Gunaji appeared in the film.
Another Sony TV show that aired was Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai (1997). The show was a family drama that followed the ups and downs of a middle-class couple and their children. Deepti Naval, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Harsh Chhaya, and Mona Ambegaonkar starred in the show.
Deepti Naval Latest & Upcoming Projects
Pushan Kripalani’s film Goldfish, in which she plays a woman dealing with dementia. Kalki Koechlin plays her daughter, who comes home to face with her mother’s illness and the scars of her past. The film is in English and deals with the widely appealing themes of memory loss and identity.
The film will be published via various streaming platforms on August 31, 2023, following its global premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October 2023. The film’s official trailer may be viewed here.
A Country Called Childhood, a book she is working on, is set to be published in July 2022. The memoir will detail her career as an actor, director, writer, painter, and poet, as well as her connection with her late companion, filmmaker and theatre star Vinod Pandit.
She is directing and acting in The Threshold, a play based on her short story of the same name. On the day of their son’s wedding, a woman decides to divorce her husband after 35 years of marriage. Rajit Kapur plays her husband in the drama, which examines issues of love, marriage, freedom, and loneliness. The drama will be performed in several theatres across India in November 2023.
