Sharmila Tagore feels pairing her with Saif or Soha in a movie may seem gimmicky

Sharmila Tagore likes her privacy. The actress, who spends most of her time in Delhi and her ancestral home in Pataudi, is happy to spend her time with her friends and family in the real world rather than virtual. Here, the actress talks about her lack of technical knowledge, working with Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan and the kind of roles she would like to do...

Why don’t we see you in films anymore?

It’s not that I don’t like working in films. I do, and to act in a film, right from start camera to cut is beautiful.  The kind of films Ratna Pathak Shah is doing are really nice. I thought she was brilliant in Kapoor & Sons, so there is some kind of recognition for elderly roles today. But the truth is, I have got lots of interesting stuff also going on and I keep myself engaged in that. It doesn’t mean that if I don’t work in films, I have nothing to offer. I am happy and contented so only if there’s a very good role, will I take it up. I have done it all and have a lot of experience, so I am not that interested to be involved. There’s a whole world out there to experience besides films.

Saif and you have worked earlier in Aashiq Awara and Eklavya. Would you like to work with Saif and Soha in a film together?

I don’t think so. We haven’t been offered one till now and also, as actors, we are selfish people and want to bring our best elements to screen with the best roles. When you pair families together, they are gimmicky stunts and don’t work unless the director of the film feels that the script and characters deserve that and we all fit in organically. It also depends on the audience and whether they want to see us together.

You are not on social media.

Neither is Saif, Saba, or Kareena. I think social media is a way of people wanting to keep in touch but I feel that it’s an ongoing thing. I like my privacy and being on my own. I really don’t have the time doing so much. I absolutely don’t want to come on social media. I am more interested in the real world like seeing the sunset, or the trees. I love my garden, I love my friends, sitting and chatting with them and playing Scrabble, instead of the virtual world. I want to keep it like that. I want to have more time there. The girls are very tech-savvy and can do it very quickly, but I won’t even know how to do it. For me, even sending an SMS is a pain. I just want to pick up the phone and talk. I don’t like to look at the screen all the time. Too much time is taken and everybody is consulting Google and all and if I know a little bit, it’s fine. I don’t have to know everything. Everybody wants to be on top of things but for me those gaps in knowledge are fine. There’s a kind of fever where everybody wants to keep abreast of everything. I don’t have a problem saying I don’t know.