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\u201cI like to be slightly invisible and don\u2019t enjoy so much attention on me,\u201d a statement almost paradoxical coming from someone constantly in the public eye. But for actor Shahana Goswami, it is simply her idea of success. The conversation with the actor\u2014one of Indian cinema\u2019s most compelling female voices\u2014 turned out to be far more honest and direct.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For as long as I remember I have always approached Bollywood with a certain wide-eyed optimism\u2014be it the slightest global recognition, a moment at the red carpet, or the thrill of seeing Indian stories trave. But my chat with Goswami reminds me that while the progress is real, the story of recognition is far from complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For someone who has navigated both Indian cinema and global festival circuits with films like Santosh (2024), Goswami\u2019s work has steadily travelled beyond Indian screens. Yet, for the actor, the real anchor remains the craft itself. \u201cIt\u2019s an industry that\u2019s built on perception. There is a lot of noise and paraphernalia that is attached especially to an actor\u2019s life,\u201d she admits. \u201cI think it\u2019s a personal choice at the end of the day, what part of the journey you feel driven to, and for me, that has been towards the process, the teamwork, and the various departments coming together for one vision,\u201d adds Goswami.<\/p>\n
That said, the industry\u2019s fixation with perception rarely remains abstract. Goswami is familiar with this dynamic up close. \u201cI remember the first advertisement I did with Fevicol where I was playing a Banjaran mother and I had two kids. I was 19 then!. [In] Rock On!! (2008) I was playing a 32-year-old with an eight-year-old child, and at the time of filming, I was 21,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI did see a typecasting that happened post Rock On!!. There was a tendency that I was not offered roles that were actually my age. I think it had to do with how I looked. The weight that I had when I was younger made me look a little bit older,\u201d she shares, reflecting on the traces of the stereotypical gaze that stemmed less from performance and more from appearance and industry structure.<\/p>\n
But since change is inevitable, she saw these rigid expectations fade away over time. \u201cIn the last few years, it has changed a lot,\u201d Goswami admits. \u201cIronically enough, now that I am older, I\u2019m playing roles of younger women. So it\u2019s become something that is a lot more fluid,\u201d she says. And perhaps that sense of fluidity extends beyond just the roles she plays. Lauded for being one of the very few Indian actors to be part of a film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and spotted at the Oscar nominations, Goswami approaches the idea of global recognition with a measured realism. \u201cI think it\u2019s grown, largely, but Indian actors working in international projects are still very minimal and selective. It has always been tokenistic or a little bit towards caricature,\u201d she explains while hoping for a more nuanced exporting of India and Indian storytelling.<\/p>\n
With nuanced storytelling rises the expectation of narratives that speak more of the craft than of the labels attached to it. I remember watching Santosh with my mother, and witnessing the both of us being struck by how seamlessly Goswami adhered to the role\u2014so much so that the performance invites you to engage with the film for what it is, rather than through the familiar lens of a gender bias, something that the actor tends to negate.<\/p>\n
Contrary to the predictable call for more \u201cwomen-centric cinema\u201d, Goswami would rather dismantle the label itself. \u201cI would wish to remove the need to underline a feminine character. I hope and wish for a time when we can just tell stories without having to constantly think that somebody is underrepresented, or is not being shown as they should, somebody is being cut out of the storyline,\u201d she states. \u201cSo, in a nutshell, what I wish for is a time when we can just talk about human experiences and nuances,\u201d she signs off with a perspective that feels strikingly different from the one many of us have grown accustomed to. While the industry continues to chase visibility, Goswami seems more interested in disappearing into the work itself\u2014 letting the story, not the spotlight, take centre stage.<\/p>\n
Lead image: By Abhishek Gaikwad<\/p>\n
This article first appeared in Bazaar India’s March 2026 print edition.<\/p>\n
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