EXCLUSIVE: Tillotama Shome shares heartwarming Monsoon Wedding memories: “Makeup artist sensed my JEALOUSLY, made me feel special; travelled abroad for the first time, thanks to Mira Nair”; reveals the film comforted audiences during 9/11 attack: “We hugged and held people”
2026 is a landmark year for Tillotama Shome as she celebrates her 25th anniversary as a film actor. Her debut film, Monsoon Wedding, was released on November 30, 2001, and is remembered even today for its ensemble cast, Mira Nair’s exemplary direction and the song 'Kaavaan Kaavaan'. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Tillotama shared some fascinating trivia about working in Monsoon Wedding.
When asked if she remembers watching the film in a theatre in India, she replied, “I saw the film in Venice. It did the film festival round, in Venice, London and Toronto and later had a worldwide release.”
Tillotama Shome then went down memory lane, “For my character, Alice, I was required to wear a saree, which I used to do in just 2 minutes. I didn’t have any make-up; I just had to apply kajal. Meanwhile, all the other actors were getting their hair and makeup done. The makeup artist saw that I was a bit jealous, though I never said anything (smiles)! I would look at them and see how they were taking almost an hour to get ready. So, she would make me sit on the makeup chair, put all kinds of creams and fragrant oils on me, and give me a head massage so I felt special (laughs). It was very sweet; she didn’t need to do that. I didn’t even express any jealousy, but she sensed it.”
Tillotama continued, “One day, when I was in the makeup chair, Mira walked in and asked me where all I have travelled. I told her that I have never been outside India. She said, ‘What? You are really Alice in Wonderland’! She wondered how it was possible. I told her, ‘A lot of us haven’t travelled the world physically. But I have travelled the world in my mind because of the books I have read and films I have seen’. So, it was not I felt sorry for myself.”
She added, “That’s when Mira said, ‘I promise that I’ll show you a little bit of the world’. Aisi badi-badi baatein toh bahut log karte hai shooting ke waqt. And after the shoot is over, everyone forgets. But she remembered. When the film got to travel, she chose Naseer saab and me to travel out of such a massive, beautiful cast (smiles). I sat on the plane and went out of India for the first time. I was the first in my family to do so.”
Tillotama Shome couldn’t stop smiling as she revealed, “There were no phones those days. I saw the film in Venice in that massive theatre. Then, we went to London, and there I got a fax from Mira informing me that the film had won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.”
Sadly, the Toronto Film Festival premiere coincided with the September 11, 2001 attack at the World Trade Centre. She said, “We were on our way for the premiere in Toronto when the Twin Towers were attacked. I had really prayed that I wanted to do a film that would make people happy. And I thought Monsoon Wedding was an answer to that prayer. But in that moment of devastation and numbing terrorist act, I felt like why such a horrible thing has happened when I was living this special moment in my life?”
Tillotama further stated, “The festival was cancelled, but the Mayor of Toronto allowed the film to be screened. After the screening, we were there to hug and hold people. We realized how much love the film gave them at such a difficult time. That became a foundational memory for me. No matter how dark things are, if a certain kind of film can give people hope and make them forget their troubles for a few moments, then there’s nothing like it. I really felt the power of cinema yet again, not just through the grandness of watching the film in Venice, but also through the intimacy of what a film can do for somebody who’s going through a sh*t day and make them feel a little better. That experience is something I have really held on to.”
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Tillotama Shome reveals Sunny Deol let a fly crawl into his eye for her close-up: “I would have stopped the scene, even if it was with the world’s BIGGEST leader…”; adds, “I don’t have to carry the flag for independent cinema”
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