Dimple Kapadia: A versatile performer who has redefined portrayal of older women

Dimple Kapadia didn’t stop there. Even as years went by, she made sure not to move away from the silver screen, as most of her contemporaries did. Instead, she focused on picking up roles which do not showcase an older woman as ‘bechari’. That was also because she “didn’t like to play ‘haye main dukhyari (oh I’m so sad)’ type roles.” She flouted societal norms of older women being confined to their homes, being a burden on their children or being sacrificial to keep her family first. She picked roles which, if not central to the story, shined even in the background.

Dimple Kapadia turns 66 on Thursday. (Express Archive Photo)

Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kapadia portrayed characters suitable for her age: such as that of an unhappy wife in an open marriage in Somnath Sen’s Leela (2002) and a divorced-and-vulnerable mother in Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai (2001). Both the roles were written for her. Farhan had once accepted that he would have ‘scrapped’ Dil Chahta Hai if Kapadia would have rejected the film because he wrote Tara only for her.

She appeared in a supporting role in Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance in 2009, and proved her timelessness as she delivered a terrific performance as the super-ambitious yesteryear diva Nina Walia trying to launch her daughter in the industry. With every performance, Kapadia made it difficult for filmmakers to box her into a category.

In between her meaningful performances, Kapadia also did a few smaller roles since they were the demand of her “bank balance”. While speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2018, the actor accepted that she gives her nod for a role either because it is very important for her or because of money. Maybe, just maybe, this is why she starred in Dabangg (2010) as the ailing asthmatic mom of Salman Khan.

Dimple Kapadia in Dil Chahta Hai. (Express Archive Photo)

With Homi Adajania’s 2012 film Cocktail, Dimple Kapadia transitioned into the mother roles, but not your typical 90s mom, who would do anything for her kids. Instead, she played a ‘fun’ Punjabi mom, who slaps her middle-aged son in front of his girlfriend. In the 2014 comedy Finding Fanny, where she donned a 20-kg prosthetic bottom and a huge tummy to look like a bulky old Catholic woman, Kapadia proved how sharp an actor she is.

And just when she was about to get stereotyped into mommy roles, Kapadia appeared in Christopher Nolan’s espionage thriller Tenet (2020). She played the role of an enigmatic arms dealer in Mumbai and after working with her, the entire team of Nolan’s film realised what a “powerhouse of talent” Kapadia is. Kenneth Branagh once shared how Nolan was floored by her acting skills. He told PTI, “I know that our master director, Mr Nolan, was thrilled with her and our leading man, John David Washington was completely in love with her by the time they finished working together.”

In 2021, when there was a streaming boom and character actors occupied more space on our screens – and in our hearts – Kapadia met us as a hardened politician Anuradha in Amazon Prime Video’s political thriller series Tandav. She brought moments of political tension with such brilliance that the audience became invested in her character.

Dimple Kapadia plays Anuradha Kishore in Tandav. (Photo: Amazon Prime Video/Instagram)

It’s 2023 now, and Dimple Kapadia has already entertained us in Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan as senior RAW officer Nandini, in Luv Ranjan’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar as the filterless matriarch, and in Homi Adajania’s Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo as Savitri, a violent, unabashed woman, who doesn’t mind picking arms for a fight.

In Pathaan, though she is cast alongside everyone’s favourite Shah Rukh Khan, she manages to create her own space and grabs attention even in scenes with SRK.

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar is a rom-com centred around Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, but arguably the best scenes in the film feature Kapadia.

Dimple Kapadia in Pathaan.

And, after watching her in Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, even the action heroes would be gasping for breath. She told Variety, “I was always convinced in my mind that I can do action better than any of the action heroes.”

As much as our parents or grandparents love Dimple Kapadia, we millennials love her for her sassy roles. And, with her performance in Pathaan and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar and Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, she has, for sure, made fans in Gen Z too.