Cast from the same dye

If you look just at her eyes - huge, quiet and filled with sadness - you could be forgiven for thinking that you are watching Smita Patil in...

If you look just at her eyes 8211; huge, quiet and filled with sadness 8211; you could be forgiven for thinking that you are watching Smita Patil in Bhumika or Charkha or even Arth. And the similarity does not end there. Though Manya Jethmalani keeps the conversation flowing, words choke in her throat when talk veers to her sister, Smita. 8220;We were more than just sisters, we were confidantes,8221; she says, simply.

Even though there are only memories left, her thoughts and feelings about Smita are so rich, that from death they have given birth to something new. As is evident from Manya8217;s work with the Smita Patil Foundation, which is is doing just that 8211; nurturing good cinema while keeping alive the memories of her sister. At the recently-held Mumbai Academy of Moving Images MAMI Film Festival, one of her pet projects 8211; India as location and link8230;View from Abroad 8211; came under the spotlight. Four films by Indian directors living abroad were screened and Manya is still excited by the response. 8220;I have been very ill these past few months, so the other concepts I had been working on were put on hold. But I will never give them up 8211; I know they are good,8221; she says.

Manya started working with the Foundation after she got back to India from New York, five years ago. She had gone to study fashion there when she was 22. After marriage, her husband8217;s work kept her in the USA. But once the knots of her marriage with Janak Jethmalani started to unravel, Manya returned to India. Except for an occasional glimmer of pain that flashes in her eyes, there are no traces of her rocky past.

Thirty-eight now, she is going through a divorce with remarkable resilience. 8220;Right now, I feel as if I am standing at a point where life is just beginning. And I know that the internal struggle will be less from now. Maybe I am just a late bloomer,8221; she laughs.

But on a more serious note, she says that she hasn8217;t yet found her mission in life. 8220;I haven8217;t achieved much, at least not in the worldly sense as I did not follow any one profession. I have done what I wanted to do and have enjoyed it,8221; she says. And this off-the-cuff itinerary has included weekend cooking, backstage work for fashion shows and charity among other things. 8220;Though I love working for the Foundation, it is not something I want to do full time. And right now my priority is my health,8221; she says.

What is also on top of her list is her 10-year-old son Kail. When he is not checking his stocks8217; on his laptop, he is busy ribbing his mother. More like friends than mother and son, Manya says their easy relationship is something she has worked hard to achieve. 8220;It took a lot of effort to establish this bond especially as my husband and I had just separated. Kail was seven and I made sure that the relationship between his father and me remained amicable.8221;

She is not ignoring what is the best for her either, even though she has just been through a rough patch. Checking out various alternative healing techniques to work on getting her health on track, she has also let go of her past to regain her peace of mind. 8220;Once when I had gone to Bali, we were sitting in this restaurant there run by a man who had been all over the world. He was a well-known figure in the area. It was then that I suddenly realised how all of us think we are kings and queens of little kingdoms, all of our own making. But does this tiny space that each of us take matter outside? You shouldn8217;t give too much importance to yourself. Life is too short for that,8221; she says.

Story continues below this ad

Once again, her attitude and life are being shaped by her sister8217;s death.

Return to the top of the page