Face Off

Married?

Yep. To Chunky Panday, of course. Yes, yes the one-time fillum actor.In fact, that is the reason Bhavna first shot to fame. After all, Chunky’s love life created a lot of controversy — remember his long affair with model Anu Kuttoor?

Not that Bhavna is that kind of girl. For her, marriage had to come first. "We never had an affair as such. Our relationship was more of friendship rather than a girlfriend-boyfriend kind." They met through a common friend.

But marriage — nah, friendship — had to wait because soon after they met, Bhavna donned the Lufthansa uniform to become an air hostess. Chunky called her in Delhi only to be told that she’s gone abroad. "He thought I had got married."

So, what did Chunky do?

Nothing. Till they met again. This time, marriage happened.

And what happened to the air hostessing?

What took off with a flying startsoon took a back seat. "Lufthansa doesn’t have a base in Mumbai." Note: she uses the word `back seat’ implying that she hadn’t ruled out the possibility of joining an airline with a base in the city.

Not that she’s sitting around doing nothing.

"I cannot sit idle." So, the obvious choice before her was the glamour business. An area that the Pandays seem to dominate. Hubby Chunky is/was (read whichever’s applicable) a film actor, sister-in-law Deanne has been a model for quite a few years and mom-in-law Snehlata has trimmed the flab off several celebrities.

"The most obvious choice I had was modelling. So I got my portfolio done. It is a good pastime." So, from flying she took to walking down the ramp. She also smiles at you from the Times Card and LG refrigerator ads.

And how did the idea of television software strike her?

Actually it didn’t. It struck hubby dear when he was being offered roles in television serials. And Bhavna started accompanying him for all meetings that took place."Chunky wants to act in only those serials that his company produces," Bhavna explains. "But you cannot get into production just like that." Absolute, their television software company was thus conceived and they began with marketing serials for various channels.

So, which serials are they marketing?

Sare Jahan Se Achcha and Mafia. The former’s a countdown show and what the other is, well, the plot is obvious.

Why — given the number already — are they doing another countdown show?

It’s different, that’s why. "It’s going to focus on Indians living abroad, dancing on the streets there and talking about how much they miss India." And interspersing all this will be hit songs. They are selling both the programmes to Doordarshan. Wider viewership being the obvious reason.

Did the husband-wife team have a background in what they were doing?

Not quite. But Irfan Khan, Chunky’s associate from their Superhit Hungama days, was their guide in this new venture.

But there are atleast two more new projects that Bhavna is working on — Deja Vu, mom-in-law Sneh’s Linking Road boutique, and Slimelle, the free-from-fat clinic.

"Deja Vu has been closed for some months now simply because there’s no one to look after it. It’s situated at a prime location; even if we give it out on rent we can earn around Rs 60,000 per month. We are wasting money by just letting it stay closed."

When the doors finally open what will be the new avatar of this store?

Bhavna plans to start a sale shortly in what was till now a boutique exclusively for salwar-kameezs. "Then we’ll do it up." And by "doing it up" Bhavna means doing a lot to it. Deja Vu, under Bhavna, will cease to be a showroom for salwar-kameezs alone. Instead it will cater to the requirements of the entire household.

Why is Bhavna so concerned about a one-stop shop for all your household needs?

It so happened that Bhavna, along with Chunky, went shopping for bed covers. Finding the right ones was a stiff task. "Thereis a dearth of places from where one can by good stuff for the house. Deja Vu will take interns from various schools of fashion designing and will get them to design material which will be truly exclusive and at the same time affordable." Exclusive and affordable? Hah!

But she will not only look after trim cuts for Deja Vu. Bhavna also wants to help mummyji trim people’s figures.

"Yes, she’s been handling Slimelle all alone. There’s so much work. She needs help." The Pandays are planning to buy land on the outskirts of Mumbai for a health farm. Bhavna is going to get busier by the passing day. "We wish to keep the health farm in the family and its franchise will not be given to anyone else."

Where did she acquire the business sense from?

"My father is a very enterprising person." Besides that she a commerce graduate herself — among the toppers of the Sri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi. "I love accounting. I have joined a course in computerised financial accounting. You can thenmanage your own accounts."

But is Bhavna qualified for such diverse fields like marketing television software to running a boutique to helping people get into shape?

No, she admits very honestly. "But I have a lot of ideas. I never really had enough money to invest in those ideas. This family, fortunately, has the financial resources." And she is going to make sure that the funds don’t deplete!

So what is Bhavna most likely to say?

"An idle mind is a devil’s workshop."

And least likely?

"Stay idle, indulge in eating."