In this unpublished interview, Antara Mali’s spoke with Subhash K Jha about her role as a wannabe Madhuri Dixit in 2003’sMain Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon.
The role in Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon seems designed for you?
What you’re saying is in contradiction to everything I represent as an actress. I want to imbibe anything that comes my way. And I don’t believe in dream roles. If people believe this role was designed for me then I guess in a way that would work in my character’s favour, don’t you think?
How was it playing this role?
The aspirational quality that Main Madhuri Dixit…. celebrates has always been a part of our cinema. This girl that I play is obsessed with Madhuri Dixit. She doesn’t just want to be an actress. She wants to be like Madhuri. From the first frame you’ll see her imitating Madhuri. I’m a huge fan of the actress myself. That made the role more fun to play. Even if I had do a song of her 20 times over, I enjoyed it because I’ve always loved her songs and dances. The fact that she’s been a huge icon and a personal inspiration really helped me play the role.
What preparations did you make to play this wannabe Dixit?
I didn’t really have to see her songs over and over again. I knew them all. I didn’t want to minutely observe every movement in her songs and then imitate them. That would’ve been borderline spoofing. I had to absorb her characteristics. On one level I had to play this girl Chutki, and on another level I had to do Chutki imitating Madhuri Dixit. I had to give a glimpse into who Chukti was. Main Madhuri Dixit….touches the dark elements in the girl’s journey from dreams to disillusionment. But it’s a frothy film in the same genre as Basu Chatterjee’s Chitchor. I was always a fan of the films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Now I love Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Nagesh Kukunoor as well…..
You’ve done a fantasy character like in Road. Were you comfortable doing that?
I ‘m far more comfortable doing a real character like Chutki in Main Madhuri Dixit … Even in Road, there were very real elements. But somewhere other elements crept in. Actually the director Rajat Mukherjee had planned it as a very glamorous character .
Lots of people thought you were projected like Urmila Matondkar in Road?
People cling on to a lot of factors which have nothing to do with the actors and their films. In the media, there’s always some controversy or the other. There’s no truth to it. I’ve been around long enough to understand these games. Actually, I started as an actress in a film called Dhoondte Reh Jaoge many years ago. It ran for three days and then collapsed in a heap. It’s been a long struggle. I haven’t had it easy. There was another campus caper Dum Dum Diga which got shelved . Then I did a Telugu film Prem Katha for Ram Gopal Varma. I realized doing South films was tough because the language took a lot out of me. I also did one Malayalam film whose name I can’t pronounce where I played a single mother. Now you know why I don’t do regional films, ha ha. I did it because I didn’t want to get typecast in the image of the girl from Mast.
Your father Jagdish Mali is a well known glamour photographer. Did that help open doors?
Not really . I had a long period of struggle. My father was totally against my acting career. He still is, to a large extent. He’s being a protective father, I guess. He thought the possibilities of my making it were 001 percent. But I ‘ve never had any bad experiences. It all depends on how one carries oneself. I feel very positively towards my career as an actress. I’ve gone a step ahead with every assignment . I feel I’m getting closer to where I want to go. I’ve come quite far in spite of my initial misgivings.
Why?
Because I’m not attractive in the conventional filmy sense. The character in Road may have been attractive.
What other films do you have on hand?
That’s the question I’m most frequently asked. After Main Madhuri Dixit I’m in a film called Gulal, not to be confused with Aparna Sen’s Gulel which has nothing to do with me. Gulal is about student politics. I play the negative lead. You could say I provide the conflict in the plot. I’m also doing Prawal Raman’s Ghayab which is a magical fantasy.
What do you think of the competition?
They’re all travelling on a different road from me. So I can’t be compared with others. But yes, I’m like a book in a library . You can have a Charles Dickens novel on the same shelf as a Jane Austen. I’d rather concentrate on my own work rather than what the others are doing.
Do you feel fulfilled as an actress?
Every film for me is a journey. I’ve no plans as long as my credibility grows. It’s difficult for me to find the right roles. It’s always difficult for anyone swimming against the tides. I don’t want to be slotted into any one image. But I believe in myself. As an actor I look for production companies which share my beliefs. From Road I’m lucky to have taken another route to Main Madhuri Dixit… I know no one like Chutki. That made it a special challenge. It’d be very difficult doing meaningless roles.
Will this film make you as successful as the original Madhuri Dixit?
I truly believe if this film does well it would make my journey as an actress easier. Otherwise it’d be tougher. It’s imperative to constantly reinvent myself as actress.
