Feels good that people are watching and appreciating you: Raveena Tandon

Mumbai: Raveena Tandon is elated that through Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the country, her work in both mainstream and independent cinema has been recognised.

The actor, whose name was announced among the Padma awardees on the eve of Republic Day, said 2023 has begun on a good note.

“It has been a year of awards for ‘KGF 2’ and ‘Aranyak’. But Padma Shri was the best of all because it encapsulated my entire body of work. It encapsulates everything - the commercial successes, the songs that are so eternal that people remember,” Raveena told the top news agency.

Tandon, who ruled the 1990s cinema with hits such as ‘Mohra’, ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Dulhe Raja’ while also making a mark in off-beat movies such as ‘Daman’, ‘Satta’ and ‘Shool’, made her successful streaming debut with ‘Netflix’ series ‘Aranyak’ in 2021. She also played an important role in ‘KGF: Chapter 2’.

“It feels good that people are watching and appreciating you. I thank everyone who has been with me on this journey and supported me throughout,” the actor said.

The popularity of mainstream entertainers usually dominates an actor’s filmography, but Raveena feels ‘lucky’ that her performance-oriented roles in ‘Satta’, ‘Shool’ and ‘Daman’, for which she won the National Award for best actress, did not go unnoticed.

“Huge commercial successes sometimes overshadow the body of work that you have done in realistic cinema because of the hit songs and films that people remember. I am so happy that an award like Padma Shri gives credit to the fact that I have done films like ‘Satta’, ‘Daman’, ‘Matr’ and ‘Shool’.”

Raveena will be seen in the Arbaaz Khan-backed social drama ‘Patna Shukla’; a romantic-comedy ‘Gudchadhi’ with Sanjay Dutt and a show with ‘Disney+ Hotstar’.