The audience today is far more accepting, and actors no longer need to remain confined to a single on-screen image, says Shubhangi Atre as she bids an emotional goodbye to her much-loved character Angoori Bhabhi with the film Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain! – Fun on the Run. Atre stepped into the role of Angoori Bhabhi in 2016 after Shilpa Shinde exited the popular sitcom due to differences with the makers. While Shinde has returned for the show’s 2.0 version, Atre feels grateful to have played the character one last time on the big screen. “I am happy that I got to play Angoori for the final time through this film. It gives me the best kind of closure,” Atre told PTI in an interview, adding that she now looks forward to exploring roles beyond the image of the homely wife whose broken English became a source of comedy. Reflecting on how the industry and audiences have evolved, Atre said social media has played a crucial role in changing perceptions. “Earlier, if you played a character on television, you became that. In shows like Ramayan, Arun Govil ji was treated like Lord Ram wherever he went.

 

Social media has given actors a platform to show different sides of themselves. People know me as Angoori on screen, but they also know me as Shubhangi,” she said. Recalling a memorable incident at an airport while travelling to Bhopal to meet her mother, Atre shared how a group of women recognised her and eagerly posed for pictures. “They asked me why I left the show. When I told them I wanted to do something else as an actor, they sweetly suggested what I could explore next. That’s how accepting the audience has become now,” she said, adding that while reinvention takes time, a fresh start is always possible. Atre also praised her former co-star Saumya Tandon, who recently earned acclaim for her role as Akshaye Khanna’s wife in the blockbuster Dhurandhar. “She was so graceful and expressive. She spoke through her eyes.

 

That’s the best quality an actor can have,” Atre said, recalling advice once given to her by filmmaker Anurag Basu about letting emotions speak louder than dialogues. Leaving Angoori behind, however, has not been easy. “For 10 years, the set was my second home. We worked long hours, celebrated festivals together, and became a family,” she said, fondly remembering the Covid bio-bubble shoot in Surat, where she cooked paalak ke pakode and puris for her co-stars and crew. Directed by Shashank Bali, Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain! – Fun on the Run is set for a theatrical release on February 6 under the Zee Studios banner. n