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Thought I was an all-rounder: Juhi Chawla

Actress Juhi Chawla says while she tried her hand at everything, comedy came to her effortlessly.

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Juhi Chawla has always been associated with laughter. If she isn’t laughing herself then she is making the audiences laugh. Does the real you translate on screen?
I don’t know how it translated on screen when I started out. I realised this side of me when I was in front of the camera and was given scenes to do that were amusing. I found that I enjoyed them a lot. Though I tried hard to be like Madhuri — ­dance better and be a seductress — it took a lot of effort. Comedy was the only area where I felt I didn’t have to put in any effort. So, I actually discovered myself during my films, not before or after that.

Did you get enough opportunities for such kind of roles?

For a long time, I didn’t believe in it. People still ask me ‘why don’t you do great scripts which are fun comedies’. But I don’t think I can carry a whole film just trying to be funny. And I like it when there’s no effort. Within the script, there are funny moments and other things also go along. For a while, I did not realise that this was my strength. And when I did realise it, I can’t say I did not get opportunities from outside. I think I did not work hard enough on it. I thought I was an all-rounder and could do everything...

...but you are an all-rounder. From where did you get the inspiration?
I have been a fan of Sridevi. I used to try and emulate what she did because I thought she was the world’s best. Whether she was doing a Hawa Hawai or Kaatein Nahin Kat-te... you just couldn’t outdo that woman. She was a power house! Another woman I idolised even before I realised I would join the industry was Padmini Kolhapure. In Ahista Ahista or Prem Rog I remember sitting in the theatre and watching her laugh and suddenly cry, and I was amazed. Once I entered the industry, I knew that was the way to be.

You have done many films where people remember your character for a long time. Like in One Two ka Four, where you played an undercover cop with a Haryanvi accent and the Tamil spouting Vyajyanthi in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke...

For One Two ka Four, I remember Shahrukh, who knew the Haryanvi accent really well, and writer Sanjay Chel would make me sit with them and rehearse the lines. The whole credit for that accent goes to them. And for Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, the name of the character was given by Aamir. They were looking for a South Indian name and he was the one who suggested that we use Vyajyanthi. So now when you are praising me for those roles, all I can say is, my co-stars really helped me. Aamir apparently re-edited Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke.

Will we see you in any more such films?

Main Krishna Hoon will be released soon. It’s a story based in a small town, where I run an orphanage with my manager Natu bhai. The two of us have a medley of kids and one of them is a little boy named Krishna who is visited by Lord Krishna when he is really low. The story revolves around the adventures they have. After this movie, I am doing something that will completely break the mould...

Tell us about it...
The character I will be portraying is something I have never done before. It’s not just a negative character or grey. You can say it's black!

What do you feel about the kind of role actresses get after a certain age?
I have done lesser work than I used to earlier. But I have become choosy. I have to do something that excites me, something that is suitable. I have do’s and don’ts and tests that they need to pass before I agree to do the film. But I do each film wholeheartedly. If I did Main Krishna Hoon, I can do it very easily. I love what I do.

Most actresses today are doing similar roles, looking glamourous, same kind of songs...

But they used to say the same when I was at the peak. ‘Ki kya yaar tum log sab wohi style karte rehte ho – PT style...’ All you do is run around trees! Don’t you get substantial roles? And you are like ‘When you are a heroine you should be doing that yaar!’ When they mature they can do mummy-roles. I can very easily step into mummy roles but I have held it back. I don’t want to say ‘beta’ to somebody who is taller than me. But eventually where do you go. Even now, when I go to movies, I sit and see that the hero can be any age, 40-plus and still romance a young woman.

As an actress too, one goes through different stages in life...

When people ask me, why don’t heroines continue the way heroes do when they are 40. I think really... you don’t want to? I don’t want to get into those dresses or accessories again. I am happy playing roles like I did in I am and now in Main Krishna Hoon. Yes, something like Son of Sardaar does come along.

Tell us about whether motherhood has changed your perspective...

Whatever people thought after looking at me in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke... it’s wrong. I just wasn’t a child-friendly person. But once I had mine, I experienced that overwhelming love which everybody talks about. I felt protective of that little baby even though i didn’t know how to handle it. Also, I started seeing world absolutely differently. And then once I went to attend a show for special children and I found myself sitting there and crying and thinking that we are so blessed. I can say I am a much better person now.

Apart from acting, you have ventured into business and production. Tell us about it..
I want people to believe that I am a businesswoman but I am not. In production I like only the creative part, but when it comes to IPL... yes we invested and when IPL began... we remind everybody that just don’t look at the finished product. I was involved not in the administration or anything. I used to just go watch matches. And the first four years I cried a lot because it was really stressful. People used to look at us and say “Ohh. So you own KKR. So what do you think...” And I wanted to say I don’t think... I don’t want to think. I am going to disown them. And apart from me, my children used to bawl because every time the team lost they used to get teased at school. Now I am laughing but at that time it was a big thing. They were distressed that how come we have a team that goes down season after season, match after match. But then everything changed. We regrouped, there were controversies but then everything worked out. It was the feeling where when you have been through an all time low and then things fall in place.

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