India, Sept. 9 -- F resh off the success of Rangeen, where she played Naina - a woman neglected at home who seeks physical comfort outside marriage - Rajshri Deshpande reflects on the critical acclaim that continues to follow her career. Known for projects such as Trial By Fire and Black Warrant, the actor says she feels grateful for the consistent audience support. "I am really grateful to all those people who have supported me since my first project till today," she says. With praise often comes expectation, but Rajshri sees it as part of the joy of her craft: "I feel it's not just a responsibility because I have to have fun. I love creating characters, working on their backstories, understanding why they are doing what they are doing. If the validation is coming, it's amazing. And if someone has things to say, I want to know and incorporate that in my work because the learning never ends." Does she face judgement when she plays women like Naina? Rajshri is candid: "Whatever a woman does, she will be judged. Be it leaving home to study somewhere else or doing something for herself - people will judge. For me, when I read Naina's character, it didn't feel unusual, because these are not just today's stories." She draws parallels with the past. "Ismat Chugtai wrote such characters in her time, so did Shyam Benegal. It's really a reflection of how you look at the women in your house. To me, it was a normal story, just one we usually ignore, brush under the carpet or keep hidden." For Rajshri, playing women like Naina is a conscious choice: "There is a grace with that character as she accepts she has not made a mistake, she has just chosen herself. So, it was important for me to play it without judgement, guilt or any preconceived notion. I wanted to see the character in its complexities without labels." Acknowledging that society may view her character's actions as wrong, she adds nuance: "There are many factors, how society sees you since childhood, how your family puts you in a mould where you're taught not to stand up for yourself, but first listen to your parents, then your husband. The fault is that humans have forgotten to stand up for themselves and what they want. And if you try, there are repercussions. It's a grey line."...