Sharmila Tagore, Mohan Agashe on new film 'Outhouse': It talks about aging and companionship

NEW DELHI: "Outhouse" co-stars Sharmila Tagore and Mohan Agashe's friendship dates back to the '90s when they worked on Mira Nair's "Mississippi Masala".

The two actors have reunited for Sunil Sukthankar's light-hearted family comedy, which was written by late Sumitra Bhave and releases in cinemas on Friday.

Recalling how they shot "Mississippi Masala", Nair's crossover romance drama, also featuring Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington, Tagore said the whole cast and crew were put up in the same hotel and had a great time.

"It was equal for all of us. We had so much fun after work. Mohan Agashe was there and everybody... And there are also a lot of women in that film. The wardrobe, the screenplay writer (Sooni Taraporewala), and the director were all women. So it was great fun working in the film," Tagore told PTI in an interview.

Agashe shared that his co-star, who was already famous globally for her roles in Satyajit Ray's films "Apur Sansar" and "Devi" as well as several Hindi hits, used to be scared of "lizards". Tagore corrected him, saying "cockroaches".

The actor said his job was to make the creepy crawlies leave her room.

"And in exchange, I would get a nice breakfast. Since we were there in 1990, she has always been a star but much more of a star in the migrated Indian community and their town. So every evening, she had some invitation for a wonderful dinner and she never went alone. She always took us along, myself and Mohan Gokhale. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there," Agashe recalled.

The friendship has grown over the years and now whenever Agashe visits Delhi, Tagore calls him over for dinner.

"I get one dinner from her and she comes and makes it a point to see my plays, films and she enjoys them. And not only her but also her daughter, Soha, had come with her daughter (Inaaya) for my play 'Par Hame Khelna Hai'... So every time I was there, I enjoyed being there with them," the 73-year-old actor said.

"Outhouse" explores unexpected companionship, intergenerational connections, and the transformative power of trust and empathy through the story where Tagore plays an animator who is roped in by her grandson to find their missing dog who has befriended a recluse man, Agashe.

The 80-year-old actor, who was last seen in OTT film "Gulmohar", said she was able to visualise the story of "Outhouse" when she heard the script.

"In this film, we are not really pouring anybody with the message, so it's a very delightful film. It talks about aging and the need for companionship, how a lot of older people are living alone and there is nothing really wrong about it. It's wonderful, we like to be alone.

"At the same time, we are connected with the world. It says all these things, there is a child, there is a dog... It was a lot of fun and we had a lovely time shooting for it in Pune."

Tagore credited Agashe, who has also produced the movie, for being the "driving force" behind the project.

"When we were shooting he would visit the set and so he was inspiring everybody. All of us got some little gifts from him. We got a flask where we could carry tea. We had a lot of fun doing this film."

Agashe said he has always believed in making "social statements" through his work but in a funny and entertaining way.

"Outhouse" is also a "good detox film", he said.

"Nowadays what you see on OTT, forgive me for saying this, but many times you don't want to see it in front of the children. Today's entertainment is very toxic, too much violence, too dark, too (much) propaganda. But here is a simple friendship between a dog and a child and what miracles it can do," he said.

"Outhouse" also stars Sonali Kulkarni, Neeraj Kabi and Sunil Abhayankar.