South actor Jyothika says it's refreshing to see more shades being explored for women over 40 in Hindi cinema, particularly in the streaming space. Jyotika, who was last seen in Hindi series Dabba Cartel, now stars in Prime original movie System, which also features Sonakshi Sinha and Ashutosh Gowariker. Directed by Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, the courtroom thriller focuses on a privileged prosecutor (Sinha) who teams up with a humble stenographer (Jyothika) to uncover buried injustices, forcing a choice between power and justice, reads the official synopsis. "It's a very fresh welcome here. I find them writing some amazing roles for 40 plus women. I'm seeing a diversity and I'm seeing the greys and a lot of different kinds of characters being played here. So, it's amazing," Jyothika told PTI recently. In her almost three-decade long career with more than 50 films to her credit, Jyothik said her focus in the past decade has shifted towards scripts about women empowerment. "...Because we're still into a huge theatre space there, roles are written from a male gaze point of view. I love what I have done there and I'm still going to continue (in South). I still feel there are more shades being written here (Hindi cinema), the reason for that being OTT.

 

I think it's really taken off more in the Hindi stream. So, we have very diverse characters written for women here. So, I'm enjoying both the sides," she added. The 47-year-old actor said her role of court stenographer Sarika Rawat was demanding but satisfying. "Sarika is, I think she is an observer. She networks, she knows the courtroom. She knows every movement over there and she is just playing her part, she is going with the flow, she has also things planned. She is a mother and her day is full of hustle. She is like a common woman. "As an artist, it was an extremely interesting role for me to play and I felt it was challenging because there are a lot of silent moments for Sarika in the film and performing through silence is very demanding and very satisfying and that's something I feel is very special about Sarika in this film," she said. Jyothika said working with Sinha was a joy. "She is fabulous. We are very similar, we are on time, we believe in similar concepts and similar kind of films. I think she has also made some wonderful choices all through her career and I feel we just connected, when you connect in real life, then cinema just happens," she said. "When you get in (acting) as a teenager, all you want to do is work with all the stars and make your money. You want to get into the big films and you want to just carve that path to stardom. Then after you've done 10-15 films, you sort of grow up and then you also respect yourself more as an actor and you mature and then you start picking your lot. "Then again comes a phase where you start saying no to 90% of what's coming and just pick what gives you a good sleep at night," she said. System is set to debut on Prime Video on May 22. n