Urmila Matondkar: If we don’t change, we might lose our democracy to a regime which is dictatorial!

Politics and film industry have been sharing a rather strong connection for years now. Several B-Town celebs have already established themselves as successful politicians and now Urmila Matondkar is the latest one to join the bandwagon. The talented actress is making her debut this year with the 17th Lok Sabha Elections. She will be contesting for the Mumbai North seat on a Congress ticket. The actress is amidst her busy campaigning schedule, when we catch up with her. Surrounded by the cacophony of party workers in the background, the settings are a complete contrast to the ones we are used to seeing her in. She sounds slightly raspy as the speeches and campaigning have obviously had its effects on her throat. But Urmila Matondkar looks completely at ease, as she settles down for an exclusive chat with Bharati Dubey and shares her fiery take on the current scenario in politics and reveals what made her take the plunge in it.

How did politics happen?
I have always said that acting in films is a big part of me. Beyond that, you know I have never been media-oriented. I have only done interviews when my films were releasing. I would rather let my work speak for me. So, obviously, there’s much about me that I have never discussed and that’s the person I have been. I’ve belonged to a background where we believed that you need to give back to the society what it has given to you. Coming from a non-film background, making it so big and continuing it on a big platform, it was all possible because of my people. And so I felt it was the right time to do this switch-over. Because honestly, I feel in today’s day and age, our country needs it and I hope I can deliver what it needs.

Did the Congress party approach you?
Yes, even before this, a lot of parties had time and again approached me and the same way Congress also approached me. This time, I felt I was ready and I felt the need.

How did your family react, especially your husband?
They were very supportive and I come from a family where they don’t tell you what to do. You decide what you want to and they stand by you. Of course, my mother and my sister are still worried about my safety. My husband has been also very supportive and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without him. He travels with me a lot of times for my safety.

If you get elected, what’s the first thing that you’ll do?
First of all, it is a long list actually. Top three would be, water, because there are a lot of places that don’t have water at all. There is no electricity and also housing issues. These are going to be slightly time-consuming things which need to change quickly. Decisions need to be taken on women’s healthcare, train-issues, ladies locals because too much population and too less, too weak an infrastructure is the situation of this area.

Why do you think people should give your party a chance this time?
Because I honestly think, BJP hasn’t been able to deliver any of their promises. I don’t think it’s rocket science. Keeping aside their branding and their ‘good’ advertising of themselves, there is nothing that they have been able to deliver. They spoke about the 15 lakh but they shrugged their hands off and said it was a jumla which is quite unfair and not right. Secondly, the unemployment issue has never been so bad; farmer suicides have never been so bad. Women’s security has never reached such a low. So there is just no progress in regards to any of the issues.

What do you plan to do for women?
Mainly, I would like to work on health issues because I strongly believe that if there is inflation, the first thing that goes out of the window is a woman’s health. So they all deserve and need basic right to healthcare. There are centres but there are no doctors in them. Another thing would be to mobilise them and to make them strong enough to be able to take up jobs and use that 33 percent.

Do you write your own speeches or are they extempore?
Half of the times I don’t even know where and when the next stop is, so there is no time to write. Number two, I wish I was a little more fluent. I still repeat my lines. It’s not possible; I wish I had a computer chip which I could use to store my speeches.

How was it standing with Shatrughan Sinha?
He is very affectionate and very encouraging. I got a lot of encouragement and kind words which were great coming from him because he is not a man known for mincing his words.

Has Urmila learned to be brutally honest?
First of all, you can’t be politically incorrect because you are into politics. As an actor also I was politically correct. Not for any other reason but because I didn’t want to hurt anybody even by mistake as an actor. As a politician or as a political figure, I would like to maintain a balance between speaking the truth and speaking it in the most forthright manner, which is what I have been doing. But I am still against commenting on people’s personal lives. I am strictly against targeting which has happened a lot with me. I have been instigated a lot but I am very proud to say that I have stuck my ground. I have not hit back on anybody, not because I can’t, but because I don’t think it suits my dignity that is why I won’t.

Do you think film stars are taken seriously?
Talking about media and the prototype, 20 people have asked me the same question about my ‘sexy image’. Today also they will ask me the same questions again – about Govinda, stars and so on. Similarly, in politics, they will ask about Govinda and everything else. So I think the problem is in their thinking and not mine. I have a very crystal clear thinking as to where I want to go, why I have come into this place. So I deal with that without any issue.

Do you intend to continue acting?
No, acting I can’t because this is a very challenging field. So if I have entered this field, I have no intention to do it in a half-hearted manner.

What do you want to tell the people?
I want to tell them that it is time for a change and if we don’t change it now, we might lose our democracy forever to a regime which is dictatorial and which is taking us towards an area which is never going to progress. Because let us say, for example, any household has issues burning inside, it’s never going to be a good space. So it’s the same with a country. A country which is going to have so many issues internally amongst themselves which are constantly raised, as a society will never be able to rise and walk towards progress.