As I excitedly waited to meet Dr. Swaroop Sampat at the home of Eshani and Chandu Shah, I was a little nervous. After all, this is a woman who most of us have much admired for a long time. A talented actress and a former Ms. India, she made a big splash with her TV serial Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi.  She is also the wife of the great actor Paresh Rawal.  I expected a lady who would have all airs of an Indian Bollywood celebrity.

As we shook hands and started the conversation my pre-created image completely shattered.  Wearing a simple cotton kurti,  jeans and no make-up she sat on the couch and immediately got  straight to the point, “so tell me what would you like to know”? No airs at all. 

Since education was an interest we shared we decided to begin there.  How did this successful actress get interested in special needs education?  â€œIt was quite by chance.  I was very active in my children’s school PTA. There was an opportunity for a PTA member to learn about education for special needs children.  I attended that course and was very taken with the issue.  I learned that building life skills like self-confidence and empathy can have a tremendous impact on the child’s learning. Theater has the ability to build those skills. So I began working with children.  Very early on I began to see success. That encouraged me to keep going with the effort. Later I ended up doing a PhD in the field”.

Was doing a PhD in a new field a challenge? “Oh yes.  I knew nothing about life skills, research methodologies or drama in education. I had to do a tremendous amount of reading and work hard to catch up. I do love to read and learn and hence it was a lot of fun,” said Swaroop. “I have to say though sometimes I did check out some colorful books from the library along with books related to my field just to stare at while digesting all the intense research works that are all black and white,” she adds with an impish grin.

In addition to her work with helping children with special needs, she works with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan to improve the curriculum. “Unfortunately our Indian curriculum was designed by the British who were looking to create clerks with a good knowledge of accounting and English. We do not have a curriculum that can foster innovation. However there are pockets of private schools in India, like the Jamnabhai Narsi and other schools that are a doing a tremendous job with their students,” says Sampat.  There are some changes that are being implemented in the curriculum. There is a new emphasis on vocational training that can be flexibly integrated with a high school curriculum and she is leading the efforts in the area of theater arts. 

How did she get into acting and modeling?  â€œMy father was very active in the Indian National Theater.  I was his darling daughter and was part of the theater scene from a very young age. However I much preferred backstage work to performance. My first involvement with theater was a costume designer for a Parsi Gujarati comedy.  When I started dating Paresh, he and his friend Shafi Inamdar coaxed to me to do a role in a play. That was the beginning of my acting career”.

So did Paresh Rawal teach her to act? “Oh no no! Paresh has no patience to teach.  I would say Shafi Inamdar was my teacher.  On the first day he gave me the book  - Composite Art of Acting and we took it from there”.

Why did she give up acting in films even though she was immensely talented? “I came to the movies at a time when there was quite a dearth of quality films. My idols were the western directors. I wanted act in films like Sujatha and Anuradha.  Those films were not there in the early 80s. After my role in “Himmatwala” I decided to call it quits. I really could not take these kinds of films”.

After marriage to Paresh she moved into the role of the stay at home mom. “It is really difficult to have a family with both parents being actors. Actors have very unpredictable schedule that is not family friendly.  So we had to make a choice. Paresh and I realized that I am a better teacher and he is a better actor. I am a good educator and thus raising our children suited me better. So I became the stay-at-home mom. However I constantly did things to satisfy my intellectual curiosity. It was during this period that I got a Master’s in Ikebana and later Ph.D in education while actively engaging in social causes”.

Why did she decide to make her comeback with Saptapadi, a Gujarati Film by New England’s Chandu Shah? “Chandu told me that he was inspired by my involvement in serving the underprivileged and hence the role would be best enacted by me.  Chandu is such an amazing friend that I would never say no. I am pleased to have done the film. The movie is really getting a lot of attention even in Mumbai”.

What kind of causes move her the most? 

“Women empowerment. That is the need of the hour.  While of course there are pockets of people who are empowered, we have a long way to go. I was raised in a family with great gender equality.  As an adult I was quite shocked to learn that even in elite families, the idea of women empowerment is not always the norm.  Someone once told me that I am very lucky as a woman to be given permission to speak my mind.  That comment enraged me. Who has the right to grant or withhold permission for women to speak?” said Swaroop. “As a mother of two sons I made sure that I raise them with the idea that women have the same rights as men. Mothers of sons have great responsibilities and must execute it with care.” 

What was it like to win the Ms. India title? “I was not keen on participating in the beauty contest. My father signed me up with the enticement that if I win, I would get to go to Australia.  The best part of the contest was that it gave me the chance to get to know the amazing Vimla Patil, the dynamic editor of Femina who taught me the meaning of the phrase “Woman of Substance”.

Despite being a beauty contest winner, Swaroop does not focus much on her appearance. “People are often shocked that I live in villages for long periods of time, in huts without paying any heed to my appearance. Even while shooting for films I never look at a mirror or dictate what I should wear or how I should look,” says Swaroop. 

What attracted her to Paresh Rawal? “I think we are complete opposites. I am a chatterbox. He is quiet. He is very impatient and I am quite a patient teacher especially with the kids. Opposites as you know attract.” What films of Paresh does she like the most? “All of them but Sir, Sardar and Hera Pheri are my favorites”. What has made Paresh the great success that has sustained popularity for such a long time? “The answer is simple. It is his talent.”

A voracious reader, Jane Eyre is quite a favorite with her. “I also love Winne-the-Pooh. So many of those comic strips have such profound thoughts embedded in them – a famous quote - Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it - it touched me much”.

Swaroop Sampat’s down to earth nature, her passionate support of causes she believes in and of course her amazing acting talent and ability to strike a work life balance makes her a true role model for all women.  Her film Saptapadi is a “must see” film that is playing in theaters this weekend in New England.  It was a true honor to meet this wonderful lady and we look forward to her future accomplishments.

Shows are on Friday March 29, 12:45 pm, Saturday March 30 12:45 pm and Sunday March 31 at 6:45 pm at Entertainment Cinema, Fresh Pond Mall, Alewife Brook, Cambridge, MA (617) 661-2900.