Susmita Mukherjee: Sold My Soul Doing C-Grade Films To Clear Rs 1 Crore Debt

MUMBAI-Veteran actress Susmita Mukherjee has revealed that she took up C-grade films during one of the toughest phases of her life to repay a Rs 1 crore loan after the production company she co-owned with her husband went bankrupt more than two decades ago.

Sharing a video on social media, the actress candidly reflected on the difficult choices she made to support her family.

“Someone asked me, ‘Ma’am, why did you act in bad films?’ I was shocked because it’s a very disturbing thing to go back to my life and say, why did I act in such sexist, C-grade films, films derogatory to women. But I worked in good films, not pornography, God, but just bad films, bad choices. So I did, and did I sell my soul? Of course I sold my soul. Did I feel good about it? I didn’t feel good then. I still don’t feel good about it, but it was my helplessness,” she said.

“If I tell you about my life circumstances, in 2002, my husband and I lost our media company, Prayas Production. It was a loan of one crore. Along with us, Track Cinema and Anil Chaudhary Production, we all went bankrupt. So obviously, we went bankrupt, and that’s what happened,” she shared.

The actress recalled the emotional and financial turmoil that followed.

“So debtors at the door used to come, recovery people used to come, they used to abuse us, it was a very bad time, my children were very young. So I was forced to start working again. All the money that used to come, I had to repay a loan of one crore. My husband and I worked very hard to repay that loan after 3-4 years.”

Mukherjee also revealed that supporting her daughter’s higher education overseas became another reason she continued taking up work.

“She was doing well in her studies, so I decided to send her abroad. My husband was a nationalist. He said, aren’t there good schools and colleges in India? But somehow or the other, I felt like it, so I sent her abroad. She studied in Australia and New Zealand, so I had to earn for that too. So I made those choices.”

Despite the hardships, the actress said she has no regrets.

“Of course, I have no regrets, not at all. I taught them well; they are on their feet. But because of that, I had to make all these choices. I had to do bad work too.”

Reflecting on that phase of her career, Mukherjee admitted she is not proud of many of the projects she accepted but said they were necessary at the time.

“But now I don’t do any work that doesn’t touch my soul. Now I do exactly what I feel like, with respect, I earn well and I’m happy with the projects I’m doing. We are actors. We don’t always have a choice. Sometimes we have to work to run the house,” she said.

A familiar face across films, television and theatre, Mukherjee has carved a niche for herself over four decades in the Hindi entertainment industry. She is known for her performances in films including ‘King Uncle’, ‘Khalnayak’, ‘Dillagi’, ‘Kyaa Kool Hai Hum’ and ‘Golmaal Returns’. (IANS)