"Worst thing written about me? That I have got married"

More seriously, I think, I enjoy playing roles where I get to cry. I like crying. But in my latest film, Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, I have broken that mould, because my character is that of an angel and angels don’t cry. God has made angels so full of love that they only spread happiness. My character doesn’t know what a tear is, what sadness or sorrow is. She actually takes Saif’s teardrop and is intrigued by it. She wants to cry, she wants to feel like humans do. You’ll have to watch the movie to see if she cries or not in the film.

•Harneet Singh: Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is your third film with Saif Ali Khan. Has he grown as an actor?

He is a great actor and has, of course, also grown as an actor. Saif and I respect each other as actors; we respect each other as individuals; we have a great rapport and that helps us improve our performances. At times, you have co-actors who are not interested in helping you or who are not interested in giving another take. But when you have an actor you are comfortable with and when the other actor understands your work ethics, you can surely improve. Saif makes it really easy for me.

•Harneet Singh: We don’t get to see you in too many films these days. Have you become very selective about the projects you take on?

We actors are like beggars. We wait for a good role to fall into our laps. We really can’t choose. Even Black was not chosen by me, it was given to me by Sanjay Leela Bhansali who came up with the idea and decided to make the film. I did not get up one fine morning and decided, ‘Okay, I’ll play Michelle in Black’. I have to wait for an opportunity to come my way.

•YP Rajesh: Was it tough playing a deaf and visually challenged character?

When I heard the script, I wasn’t confident. I asked Sanjay innumerable times, ‘Are you sure you want to take me?’ Sanjay said, ‘Rani, only you can do it, I can’t see anyone else doing it’. It was a world I hadn’t experienced before. For the first time, I met people who were deaf, mute and visually challenged. We are so busy with what we are doing that we hardly have the time or get the opportunity to spend time with such people. Through Black, I had the opportunity to understand what kind of life they live, what they think, how they interact with people. Their life is very different from ours.

•YP Rajesh: Did playing that role have any impact on you as a person?

Yes, I have become a stronger person. When I saw their spirit, I realised that I have been blessed by God because I can see, I can talk, I can hear. Imagine not having any of these and yet, learning to be happy. I understood that there is nothing impossible in the world. If you really want to do something or achieve something, you can do it. Some of the people I observed for the role, could actually type on a normal computer.

•Suparna Nayak: Did the role drain your emotions?

When I was going through my practice sessions and learning the sign language, I had to use my hands a lot more than usual and it was definitely tiring. In our daily lives, we don’t use our hands to that extent. For such people, however, their communication is through their fingers and hands. So, when I started learning the sign language, my arms used to hurt. However, by the time the shooting started, I had kind of learnt the language and it wasn’t so tough anymore. Also, Sanjay is a fantastic director to work with, he infuses so much energy into his actors. He keeps the entire mood on the sets so jovial, and never pressurises us for anything.

•Priyanka Sinha: Are you a method actor?

I think I am spontaneous. But you need method in films like Black. Actually, you need both method and spontaneity. The way you portray a character could be methodical, but you also need to be spontaneous in your approach.

•Harneet Singh: When you read something about yourself in tabloids, does it affect you?

Nowadays, journalism is getting a little out of hand. Young people who are getting into the field are spoiling it. They believe in only talking nonsense and fabricating stories. And they use a word — ‘source’; every story has a ‘source’. Who is this ‘source’? Or, they’ll attribute remarks to a ‘close friend’. Who are these ‘close friends’? These journalists cook up a story and then add these words to it.

•Harneet Singh: Does that bother you?

I would be lying if I say that it doesn’t bother me. When something wrong is written about you, it does bother you because a certain section of people would obviously believe what is being written. I would choose not to believe it, my parents will not believe it, but an average person would believe it. What can you do about it? You can’t go around suing people.

•Kavitha Iyer: What’s the worst thing that’s been written about you?

That I’ve got married.

•Kavitha Iyer:  Is that such a bad thing to say about you?

That is the worst thing. My fans were disappointed. When that was flashed on the news channels — ‘Rani ki sagai ho gayi hai’ ‘Breaking news’ — I was at Yash Raj Studios, shooting for Laga Chunari Mein Daag in a ghaghra-choli for Konkona Sen’s marriage in the movie. I was watching TV and my mother walked in and she said ‘What’s going on?’ I replied, ‘I’ve no idea’. Subsequently, I had gone to London on work and at the airport I had people coming up to me and congratulating me, saying ‘Aap film mat chodna, film karte rehna’. People don’t realise that whatever is written in India makes a difference outside the country too. How do they know what is true and what is not? So what do you do? When I get married, the media should wait for my parents to make the announcement. I think it is a great thing to get married; my parents will be so happy. But how can somebody else decide that I’ve got engaged and married and fabricate a story? How can that become breaking news on all news channels? That’s ridiculous!

•Kavitha Iyer: Would marriage affect your career?

Not at all. Why would marriage affect it? It is not as though I will develop an extra wing after marriage. I’ll still be the same person. I’ll look the same.

•Andrea Lopez: If not in the film industry, where do you see yourself?

Married with two kids.

•Andrea Lopez: I mean, in terms of a career.

I think being a mother of two kids is a career in itself. I see my little niece; one has to be with her 24 hours of the day. It’s a full-time job. And women who do that while also doing a job, hats off to them — that really requires a lot of courage and lot of energy which only very strong women have. I hear of these women who take a train at six in the morning from Vashi, they cook their meals before leaving, go to work, return home, do jhaadu-katka, and again cook the evening meal, then press their mother-in-law’s feet and finally, go to sleep. It’s a tough life. Those who can manage it are definitely great.

•Chetan Kapoor: At a time when critics are ripping so many movies apart, how do you feel as an actor? Do you feel there is not much for you to do in terms of characterisation?

You have answered a question that was asked earlier — why I do so few films. I really need to do roles that excite me. We actors understand what is constructive criticism and what’s not. When there are people out there with an agenda to rip apart a particular film or an actor, you understand that somebody is out to get you. But there is constructive criticism too. There was a time when critics told me that my make-up was bad, that I was fat, that my clothes were bad. I have worked on those aspects. I think constructive criticism is very important. As far as destructive criticism is concerned, you have to live here and hence, deal with it as well.

•YP Rajesh: Do you read film reviews?

Yes. I also read all the rubbish that’s written about me. I also read the name of the journalist who writes such stories and pray to God that… well, never mind.

•Priyanka Sinha: How do you gauge that your film is going to be good or not going to be as good as you had thought it would turn out to be…

… When we get the box office report. If a film is not a box office hit, it means that not many people have watched it.

•YP Rajesh: A number of your films have had strong female leads. Do you think that is going to be a trend now, especially since there is a lot of experimentation going on in the industry?

I don’t know the trend, but I am sure it’s going to start a healthy trend.

•YP Rajesh: Do you think Bollywood is still male-dominated?

Bollywood is definitely male-dominated and I don’t see why it can’t be female-dominated. I think that even in a male-dominated film, the actress plays a very important part. You can’t take anything away from the actress.

•Swatee Kher: How do you select a role? Is it the script, the director, the co actor?

When a person approaches me with a role, I ask if I can read the script. I prefer reading the script. If I like it, then I look at the role I am being offered and see if I like the role as well. At times, the film is great, the story is great too, but I don’t like the character I am being offered. In that case, I decline the offer. Once I have liked both the story and the role, it’s important to know who’s going to make the film, because the filmmaker is very important and so is the director.

•Makrand Patil: Did you ever feel disappointed with your work, that you could have done better?

I feel that for all my films, except Black. In all my films I have felt that I could have done much better. Black was the only exception, where I told Sanjay after watching the film that I can’t do this again. That is one film I am completely satisfied with because I know I can’t better that performance.

Transcribed by Asha Mahadevan