Usually when a school going kid is asked about what he or she wants to become when grown up, most of them will answer something like doctor, engineer or teacher etc. but that answer will keep on changing as the days or months pass by. But it was not so when the above question was posed to a girl in IV th standard in 2004. She said ‘ Film Heroine’, and that answer never changed. That girl is a film heroine now and her name is Bhagyashree Mote. It demonstrates the determination of the person. ‘I always wanted to be a film heroine and I decided it when I was in fourth standard. I always was inclined towards arts, especially performing arts. I feel lucky that i am living my childhood dream’ Bhagyashree said with a childlike innocence.
Born in a small place in Mandva in Beed district of Maharashtra, she did her schooling in cultural capital of maharashtra i.e. Pune. She took part in all the cultural programmes and when passed out her 10th she started pursuing her dream more seriously. Luckily for her parents were always supportive and she’s grateful for that even today. In Pune she joined one of the theatre groups to hone her acting talent. She did stints in experimental theatre and she got her first commercial break in a professional marathi play ‘Vishwa Yatra’. Because of her traditional good looks she was offered a modelling offer by a noted fashion photographer Jayant mehta. She did a saree Ad for a famous saree brand in Pune. In fact that ad is still shown on a popular marathi channel even today.
Bhagyashree realised that she was good enough for entertainment industry, so next stop, obviously, was Mumbai, the city of opportunities. Bhagyashree enrolled herself for a technical workshop in Mumbai so as to learn the technicalities of facing camera. Always aware of the importance of education she took admission in a college in Mumbai. She is a graduate in Mass Media. She used to shuttle between Pune and Mumbai but after landing a role in a hindi serial Jodha Akbar she migrated to Mumbai in 2013 bag and baggage. She learnt a lot on the sets of Jodha Akbar and her good work made her popular. She used to get mobbed in her hometown and was loving it thus pushing herself to work hard. Before debuting on small screen she did a Tapan Das directed marathi movie ‘Shodhu Kuthe’ in 2012 and her work was applauded. After the first serial she did ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’ and ‘Siya Ke Ram’. ‘In ‘Siya Ke Ram’ i played Shurpanakha. It was a negative role and that challenged me the most. It was an invigorating and satisfying experience that gave me the confidence that I can play any role, successfully’ opined Bhagyashree.
But a life changing moment came when she was selected to play a lead role of marathi serial ‘Devayani’. This daily soap went on for about 18 months and a star was born. Bhagyashree consolidated her position in the entertainment industry. Her youthful serial ‘Prem He’ with Lalit Prabhakar was a rage in younger audience. In between she did two films viz. ‘Premach Asach Ast’ and ‘Mumbai Tigers’ but both have not seen the day of the light till date. Understanding the importance of reputed production house she was patient enough to wait for a good offer. She bagged Priyanka Chopra produced ‘Kaay Re Rascala’ in 2017 which gave her immense visibility because the film could reach interiors of Maharashtra. She did a cameo in marathi blockbuster ‘Lay Bhari’.
This year her ‘Patil’ and ‘Mazhya Baykocha Priyakar’ were released and her roles were appreciated in a big way. One more of her film ‘Vitthal’ is releasing at the fag end of this year where she’s paired opposite Marathi’s huge star Sachit Patil wherein Shreyas Talpade will also be seen. Her forthcoming Anil Surve directorial ‘Aajacha Divas’ was premiered at Nagpur Film festival this year and her performance and the film was the most talked about film there. ‘Rishtit’ is another film which stars her in premier role, is ready for release and will be hitting the big screens early next year. Also Bhagyashree is debuting in Telugu films. That, yet untitled, film is a remake of a Tamil movie and has been shot in Chennai and Thailand. When asked about any #MeToo moments, this multi linguistic actress answered diplomatically ‘I believe in certain values. It’s upto oneself to gauge what’s coming. I strongly believe in “You decide your fate” philosophy. I do projects where i feel comfortable. Maybe that’s why i look like spread thin. One can notice that there’s big gap between my film projects. But i am not complaining. I’ll never do anything compromising my values’.
Bhagyashree Mote is one of the rarest of the heroines with beauty, brains, sensuality and glamour rolled into one besides being a good performer. She’s has been juggling projects from small to big screen with multiple launguages successfully. Being in audio visual medium, obviously, she needs to be fit. When asked about her fitness regime she said enthusiastically ‘Fitness is very important in this profession because first impression is extremely important. Mental balance is important with physical balance. So I jog, play tennis, do Yoga and Pranayama. Due to paucity of time, sometimes i can’t go to the Gym. But i do floor exercises at home or go for a walk. I keep rotating my fitness regime so that i do not get bored. Yoga keeps me in a positive frame of mind. I think irrespective of profession everybody should look after their body. I extract happiness from any form of exercise’. She is a business woman too, now. She has invested in a restaurant, ‘Hotel Shree’, in Pune where a Solapur fish delicacy ‘Bhigvan’ is served but she is a pure vegetarian.
Bhagyashree Mote has her plate full and when asked about her relationship status she smilingly replied ‘I shoot in Mumbai and run a restaurant in Pune. Because of that i keep traveling a lot and at the moment there’s no room for romance. When someone comes in my life, I’ll not hide it’.
– Keerti Kadam
