Susmita Mukherjee, best known for playing Mangala, the blind grandmother in Rohit Shetty’s 2006 hit comedy Golmaal, has admitted that she worked in some “pathetic” films in the past to support her family. The actor made the admission in a recent Instagram video, in which she responded to someone who accused her of doing “bad films.”“I felt a rude shock because it’s a fact. It’s a very disturbing thing to go back my career and see why I did such sexist, C-grade films, which were chalu and derogatory to women,” confessed Susmita. “Did I sell my soul? Of course, I sold my soul. I don’t feel good about it. I didn’t feel good about it even then. But I had no choice,” she added.Susmita Mukherjee revealed that back in 2002, Prayas Production, the media company owned by her and her husband Raja Bundela, also an actor, went bankrupt. “There was a new era of technology that had just come in then — angel investment and venture capitalism. We had no clue about that technology. So, we went bankrupt,” she reasoned.Since the couple had a debt of Rs 1 crore, debtors and recovery agents would come to their door and hurl abuses. “It was a very bad time. My children were very small,” recounted the actor. “So, I was compelled to go back to work again. My husband and I had to repay the debts over the next three years. That’s why I had to take up all that work,” she added.Why Susmita Mukherjee did work she’s not proud ofTo make matters worse, the “Bengali mother” in her also wanted to send her two children abroad for their education. Her husband, being a “naturalist”, argued India has colleges as well. But Susmita insisted, so their children did their “very expensive” graduation from Australia and New Zealand, respectively.“Of course, I have no regrets. They’re both independent now. But to fund their education, I had to do pathetic work sometimes. The good work I did, unfortunately, didn’t come out for some reason. I haven’t done too much bad work, but yes, I’m not proud of what I did for money,” admitted the actor.But she added that every person should know why exactly they’re working and earning money. “Is it because of a security blanket? Or for creative satisfaction? Or because they don’t have choice, and need to pay for their children’s food and education? Or because they want a lifestyle with bigger houses and luxury cars? You have to make a choice. It was very simple for me. I lived a very middle-class life month to month,” said Susmita.Story continues below this ad“We have to be very clear about the ‘why.’ And if you know why, you have to stick to it. Like I knew why I was doing it,” she added, and claimed that now that their children have grown up and are independent, and they don’t have any debtors knocking on the door, she’s very selective about the work she does.“It was okay for that time. But now, I don’t do any work that doesn’t touch my soul and is not respectable. I’m happy with my projects. As actors, we don’t always have that choice. We’re a cog in the wheel,” said the actor.Susmita Mukherjee, a graduate from National School of Drama in New Delhi, made her film debut with Sudhir Mishra’s Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987). She went on to marry Mishra, but the two eventually parted ways. She also appeared in films like Subhash Ghai’s 1993 action crime drama Khal Nayak, Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali, Rakesh Roshan’s action comedy King Uncle, Mahesh Bhatt’s crime drama Sir, and Sunny Deol’s 1999 romantic drama Dillagi.Also Read — Batwara 1947, Main Vaapas Aaunga, Operation Safed Sagar remind India who she used to beStory continues below this adWhen she returned to work in the 2000s, Susmita was seen in Sangeeth Sivan’s 2005 adult comedy Kya Kool Hai Hum, Anil Sharma’s 2007 musical Aaja Nachle, Sudhir Mishra’s period romance Khoya Khoya Chand, Tarun Mansukhani’s 2008 romantic comedy Dostana, Ram Gopal Varma’s 2010 political action thriller franchise Rakht Charitra, Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 (2016), Milap Zaveri’s sex comedy Mastizaade, Tinu Suresh Desai’s horror film 1920 London, Shree Narayan Singh’s 2018 courtroom drama Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Laxman Utekar’s 2023 romantic comedy Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, and most recently, 2024 courtroom drama Patna Shuklla on JioHotstar.