The Seriously Funny Actor

The last time Chawla worked on a big Bollywood set with perfect make-up and costume was in the 2007 children’s film Bhootnath. So when she was approached for SOS by Ajay Devgn,she thought of this as a welcome change. “For a while,I have been doing smaller budget films,where my directors always asked me to be natural and wear very little or no make-up. I remember during the shoot of 3 Deewaarein,the cameraman told me to lighten my lipstick.” she says,adding,“So on the sets of SOS,I was happy doing my whole Bollywood routine with song,dance,comedy and romance.” On the other hand,Main Krishna Hoon is a film she did for her children. “I had taken my daughter Jahnvi to watch My Friend Ganesha. She loved it so much that I decided to do the maker’s next film,which is this,” she explains.

There is a certain effervescence in Chawla that separates her from the rest of her ilk. In the late ’80s and ’90s,Chawla,along with Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit-Nene,formed the female triumvirate in Bollywood. Chawla,however,laughs it off. She says,“Sriji was someone I looked up to. For me,it was Madhuri who was more of a competition.” Chawla says that every female actor has her own journey in the industry and so did she. Chawla,who had several blockbusters to her credit,got associated with a certain comic image over time. This has stayed with her and even in SOS,Devgn wanted to make use of that. “I did comedy because I found it the easiest to do. I tried to be seductive but I was too shy and when it came to dance,Madhuri was way better than me,” she admits.

It was only after her marriage and first child in 2001,that Chawla happened to take up something that was not mainstream. And that happened to be Nagesh Kukunoor’s 3 Deewaarein. “I was on a break for 15 months when Nagesh gave me this script. When I started reading it,I did not understand it. By the time I reached the end,the twist in the tale just made me sign the film,” she says.

In retrospect,Chawla feels this was a good decision,because it gave her a new identity. Those who thought Chawla wouldn’t look beyond commercial approached her. Jhankaar Beats,My Brother Nikhil,Bas Ek Pal and I AM followed. She says,“They were challenging roles that gave me something to look forward to everyday.”

While films are her identity,Chawla has expanded her areas of interest. She is involved with a few NGOs who take care of special children and she has invested in an education website,which makes learning easy. “My thinking has evolved ever since my children have come into my life. I look at things with a broader perspective,” she concludes.

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