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Shilpa Shetty: “Dhadkan gave me a fresh lease of life”
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Two years ago Shilpa Shetty thought her career
was over. She didn’t have a single film on hand. Then a four-year-old
film, Dhadk an
hit the theatres and brought her back into the race. Today Shilpa’s
replaced Karisma Kapoor in Anil Kapoor and Satish Kaushik’s
Badhai Ho Badhai and has bagged Sunny Deol’s Indian. There’s
another love story with Sunny and Sunil Shetty. And Salman is recommending
her to his producers after she wowed him with a power-packed performance
in the Adhiyaman directed film they’re doing together. Shilpa
Shetty is back again!
Has
life changed after Dhadkan?
(With a laugh) Isn’t that apparent? I’ve been struggling
for the last seven-and-a-half years and it’s only in the last
couple of months that I’m getting the kind of work I’ve
been dreaming of for so long.
Tell us about some of these exciting offers?
Well, there’s Harry Baweja’s next, a love story, with
Sunny Deol and Sunil Shetty. Junoon with Chandrachur focussing on
an intriguing father-daughter relationship. The daughter is the
brain behind the father who is a minister, and brilliantly master-minds
all his strategies. A challenging and performance-oriented role.
(Frowning) What’s next?
A film with Salman who’s reportedly so impressed with you
that he’s been recommending you to all his producers?
How sweet! Salman is an old friend whom I’ve known since
Auzaar and Dus. We had been on some shows even before these films.
He recommended Bobby’s film to me saying it was a great role.
And it was. After Dhadkan I never thought I’d get another film
that gave me so much footage. It’s a film about today’s
generation. The conflicts between a couple and their in-laws after
marriage. It’s about how men change after marriage. All wives
will side with me while their husbands will relate to Salman, but
it’ll be difficult to decide who’s right and who’s
in the wrong. It’s an interesting film about conflicting relationships
and the clash of cultures. I’ve done a film with director Adhyayan
down South before. I’m grateful to him and Salman for making
me a part of this film.
Sunny Deol’s Indian though couldn’t be much of a dream
role though considering that it’s an action thriller with the
spotlight on Sunny?
Indian is a remake of a Tamil film, Valla Rasu .No doubt it’s
an action film but all the characters are very well-etched. I’m
playing Sunny’s wife, and emotional and headstrong character
who’s crazily in love with her husband till she learns some
hard truths about him and then she can’t stand him. The film
is about the conflict between my father and my husband. Obviously,
it won’t give me as many scenes as Dhadkan, but it’s great
to be part of a good set-up. It’s interesting because I’m
also getting to play mother to two little kids. I’ve played
a mother to an eight-year-old before in Janwar but I don’t
know if I was even noticed in the film. I hope I will catch the
eye in Indian. It’s a role with a lot of rona dhona. I think
I look terrible when I’m crying but to my surprise the other
day someone complimented me for crying so well on screen.
Is Badhai Ho Badhai, Satish Kaushik and Anil Kapoor’s home
production, another rona dhona role?
Badhai Ho Badhai is hilarious. I play this Punjabi Christian
character, Banto Betty who’s loud, warm and always breaking
into a song. However, as the film progresses she realises that love
is not just about spreading happiness around but also means sacrifice.
All these are very different films from Dhadkan but they all happened
because of Dhadkan. When I finished Dhadkan I didn’t have a
single film on hand. I was getting work but none of the offers were
exciting. Dharmeshji (director Dharmesh Darshan) and Ratanji (producer
Ratan Jain of Venus) advised me not to sign any films till Dhadkan
hit the theatres. I took their advice. I knew that whatever Dhadkan’s
fate it would not harm me.
But Dhadkan wasn’t the blockbuster it was expected to be.
It celebrated a silver jubilee, didn’t it? I guess, people
expected much more rom the film but for me it was enough
that I was a part of it and working with Venus again. The banner
will always be my lucky mascot. I’ll never forget Dhadkan.
I went through so much during the making of the film. When it was
over it was as if a part of my life was over.
Dhadkan may have fetched you a jubilee hit but it didn’t win
you any Best Actress nominations. Did that rankle?
I work for rewards not awards. My work gives me a high.So what if
I wasn’t nominated this time, the films I’m doing give
me enough scope to showcase my histrionics. My innings is n’t
over yet.
It certainly isn’t. In fact, since Dhadkan you’ve started
to look so sophisticated and sultry that producers are giving you
a second look?
I have to thank Dharmeshji for that. He was very clear about how
he wanted Anjali to look. All I had to do was be on the sets and
let him mould me. Dhadkan was one film where whatever I did I did
for the director.
But surely you must have empathised with Anjali too?
On the contrary I found it hard to relate to her. She was too nice.
Too good and pure. A clean soul. You don’t find people like
her in today’s world.
Yeah, a millennium woman would certainly never let her father take
a decision that would change her life so dramatically?
(Frowning) I don’t agree with you there. I’m a millennium
woman and I’d like to believe that if I felt as strongly as
she did for Dev I’d never marry someone else. But if my parents
really insisted on an arranged match...I don’t think they would
though...I would give in. I know my parents are the only people
in the world who would never hurt or harm me intentionally. Whatever
they chose for me would be right and in that respect I’m a
lot like Anjali. May be the rebellious, younger generation would
never accept such a decision but I know there are a lot of women
like me and Anjali in the interiors, amongst the middle-class, who
have given up on love and settled down to any arranged marriage
without even trying to tell their parents that there’s someone
else in their life. I know because I get so many fan letters from
all over the country. Women loved Dhadkan and Anjali managed to
strike a chord.I used to think the qawwali song during the wedding
wouldn’t gell, but to my surprise I found 80 per cent of the
women crying during the song. May be it triggered off a long-buried
memory. Indian girls are conditioned to believe that romance never
happens before marriage so a boyfriend is often sacrificed on the
alter.
What if a Dev reappeared in your life? Like Anjali would you chose
to remain married or would you walk away with him?
I’d never walk out of a marriage. For me marriage is for keeps.
It’s only if my husband doesn’t want me that I’ll
set him free, but not easily. However, I’ll never let my husband
trample over my self-respect the way Ram did with Anjali. And I’d
never start a relationship with a lie. If there was a Dev in my
life I’d tell my husband about him before we settled down
What kind of man would make you happy? A Ram or a Dev?
Dev wanted to be God but he couldn’t even be a good human
being. Of course, he wasn’t all bad. Whatever he did he did
for love. But he was too high-strung to appeal to me. I’d want
a Ram though finding one in today’s world would be difficult.
Dharmeshji called him an adarsh purush. Frankly, I think it would
be difficult for me to find my ideal man because my list is so long.
When I narrated it to a friend she told me that if she found a guy
with even two of the qualities I was looking for she’d give
me a call .
What’s this wish list?
My man doesn’t have to be good-looking but he has to have a
good personality. He should be a self-made man, financially independent
and not insecure about me. There should be a lot of understanding
from my side and trust from his. He should respect me and be proud
of what I’m doing. I don’t mind if he’s sober because
I’m quite a prankster myself and I know I’d make life
fun for both of us. But the other qualities have to be there. If
even one is missing I know I’d never be happy with him.
Would you want him to let you continue working after marriage?
I know the life span of a glamourous heroine is limited. Once
people know that you’re attached to someone they immediately
start doubting your sincerity to your work. Once you’re married
heroine roles just dry up and I’d hate to put chalk in my hair
and have the hero calling me bhabhi. I love my songs and dances
too much. I think I’ll give myself another five years or till
I continue getting quality work, and then I’ll say adieu and
get busy with something else. However, I’ve stopped planning
for the future. I made plans once and they went haywire. So now
I just let things be.
Do you ever regret that relationship that almost ended your career?
Why should I when today I’m getting the kind of roles I’ve
always dreamed of? But yes, two years ago I thought my career was
over. I was doing an interview once and I was asked about the films
I was doing. Suddenly it struck me that I didn’t have a single
film on hand! It was scary. I was doing only item numbers and being
called a “special appearance heroine” and a “dancing
star”. Producers were only taking me to enhance the commercial
viability of their films through a UP Bihar lootne or an Aai la
re. I’d been written off. But I’ve managed to last out
for seven-and-a half years through my songs. And then Dhadkan came
along and gave me a fresh lease of life. Now I can wow everyone
with my performances rather than my songs. It felt like such a pleasant
change to be sitting in a scene in Dhadkan and watching Mahima dance.
You’ve certainly bounced back again thanks to your never-say-die
attitude.
(Beams proudly) Haven’t I? But I have to admit that there were
times when even I was fed up and wondering if all the heartache
was worth it. But everytime I wanted to wind up my parents would
tell me to wait for Dhadkan. I used to crib about the film taking
so long but today I’m glad it did. Had it come four years ago
I would not have had a chance to mature as a person and a performer
and the film would not have made such a big difference to my career.
Whatever happens happens for the best. I used to think my mother
was biased when she’s tell Shamita and me that we were special
but today I’m beginning to believe that I can make it, still.
Talking of Shamita when she decided to join the industry did you
try to dissuade her?
Why would I do that? I am what I am today because of this industry.
I encouraged her to join the fraternity.
You don’t advise her?
Shamita is too much of a grandmother to come to me for advise though
sometimes I do suggest how to tackle a particular scene. But Shamita
is a mature girl who’s taken acting classes. She doesn’t
need a constant sounding board and when she does there’s always
mummy.
But didn’t you warn her against getting stuck with glamourous
roles considering that you’ve had to fight so hard to break
free of that image?
There’s no harm in being glamourous, but yes you shouldn’t
get typecast.I had to wait for a Dhadkan to break free of the image
but Shamita is smart. She’s doing a film with Sanjay Dutt and
Chandrachur in which she’s got a chance to play two contrasting
personalities and try out a westernised as well as an Indian get-up.
She’s also learnt from my mistakes and is not signing films
in a hurry. She’s signed just two films. When I got into films
I didn’t know anything about this world. Shamita today comes
from a filmi background thanks to me and that is an advantage.
You made your debut with a film which though a two heroine film
in which you died before the interval. made you a household name
People still remember you in Baazigar. Shamita made her beginning
with a Yash Chopra banner but she almost got lost in the crowd of
romantics.
It doesn’t matter how many heroines there are in a film as
long as your character is justified. Mahima was fabulous in Dhadkan
and people still remember me in Baazigar. May be Mohabbatein was
not as memorable a role as Baazigar, but Aditya Chopra is a very
talented director and Shamita had a chance to learn so much from
him and make a beginning with a Yash Chopra banner and that’s
important for a newcomer. It’s always been my ambition to work
with Yashji. I’m still waiting...
Has Shamita’s debut triggered off any feelings of sibling rivalry?
There’s no question of any sibling rivalry. I’m so excited
for Shamita and the better she gets the happier it will make me.
Today she’s known as Shilpa’s sister but a couple of years
down the line I may be known as Shamita’s sister and I’m
prepared for that.
Tell us something about your sojourn down South?
I’ve been doing one Tamil and one Telugu film every year. They
give me a chance to play great roles and the films are wrapped up
fast. This year I’ve done one Kannada film and one Telugu film.
My priority will always be Hindi films but I enjoy the adulation
you get down South. You’re worshiped as a Goddess.I had done
a Tamil song, Macarena...sometime ago and when I was in Tirupati
recently I was hounded by ecstatic fans chanting Macarena...Experiences
like this give you a high!
Being linked with a tennis star like Mahesh Bhupati must also give
you a high?
I wish my life was as interesting as the tabloids make it. But I’m
not involved in any relationship and marriage is a distant dream.
Have you put your last relationship behind you now that Akshay Kumar
has married Twinkle?
That’s too personal a subject to talk about. Anyway I don’t
like looking back. It’s time to move ahead.
Okay, let’s move ahead. Where do you see yourself five years
from now?
I don’t know where I’ll be five minutes from now forget
five years. I could step out of the van, sprain my ankle and land
up in hospital. God forbid that should happen but I’ve stopped
planning. All I can say is that I’m so glad I became an actress.
Recently, I was watching Zubeida, and when her son gets hold of
the only reel there is of her in action in a film, I started crying.
My family was shocked till I pointed out that reels like this would
make me immortal too. It’s amazing to realise that a person
you’ve never met gets to know you through the celluloid and
through your films you live forever. I’m so glad God made me
a part of this great industry, gave me the chance to live out so
many different lives everyday, put me in a position where I could
put a smile on an urchin’s face. If I had my way I’d never
give leave this industry, ever.
ROSHMILA
BHATTACHARYA
roshmila@hotmail.com
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