Seema Pahwa worried about acceptance from audience post lockdown

It has taken Seema Pahwa close to three decades to climb the success ladder as an actor and she believes she might have to start all over again after the nationwide lockdown is lifted. The actor made her debut in 1984 with the landmark television series Hum Log and appeared in few films and TV shows. 

Her performance in recent films like "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan won her acceptance from the young audiences.

Audience had started welcoming content-driven cinema but now one might think twice before paying money and risking their lives to go to theatres. So the struggle has come back in life about how to bring the audience to theatres, Seema told PTI in an interview.

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Citing the examples of actors Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Vicky Kaushal, the 58-year-old actor said while they have redefined the Indian film hero and enjoy a huge fan following, it would be tough for even them to pull the audience to the cinema halls. 

They all had just come in and they had given a new turn to the cinema as a hero, who is not a chocolate boy but a boy next-door. These faces had achieved so much and created an audience for themselves and the struggle to start it again will be difficult, she said.  

Seema added that the fear induced by the pandemic may stop people from coming to cinema halls, which will make it tough for the artistes to sustain.

For every actor, their work will be zero if the audience is not coming to see their performances. All we want is people to see our work and appreciate it.  The actor, who is spending the lockdown with her husband, actor Manoj Pahwa, and two children, said she is happy being at home with her family.

In this lockdown I am cooking delicious recipes for the family We are all in the same field so we are watching movies, plays or reading stories. We end up discussing cinema for hours, she said.