Subhash K Jha turns the spotlight on Kareena Kapoor’s brilliant Chameli, which directed by Sudhir Mishra and co-starring Rahul Bose released in 2004.
Kareena Kapoor’s sterling performance in Chameli almost didn’t happen. When director Sudhir Mishra offered her the role of the happy hooker Kareena was reluctant.
“I don’t think I was ready to play something so bold so early in my career,” she told this writer. Just a few months earlier Deepa Mehta had approached Kareena through this writer to play the widow in Water.
After the meeting Kareena gushed, “Deepa and I hit it off from the one go. She’s upfront, open, friendly, and hostile to hypocrisy. We’re quite alike. My mom who had accompanied me to the meeting also liked Deepa immensely. I’ve never worked with Rahul Khanna before . I think we’ll make a terrific pair , don’t you agree?”
Kareena made an excuse about being scared of facing the camera with Shabana Azmi.
Bollocks! I think it was Kareena’s mother who objected to her playing such “arty” roles so early in her career.
With Chameli, Kareena was allowed no excuses. The late much-missed producer Pritish Nandy said, “Bebo (Kareena) is that juncture of her career when she is swathed glamour and wealth. This is just the right time for her to branch out. She must do at least one film per year that will heighten her histrionics heft. Chameli, I am proud to say is that my production house is instrumental in giving her that one baby step in that direction.”
Kareena loved the experience of working in Chameli. Kareena plays a raw and real prostitute, not the sanitized kind we’ve so far seen in Hindi films. But the real thing. Foul-tongued abusive, mercantile woman-of-the –world who means business.
Anant Balani who was to direct Chameli died and Sudhir Mishra took over.
Saddened Kareena said , “It’s really sad how Anant passed away suddenly. I still haven’t got over it. At first I wasn’t sure I could say all those abusive things that Chameli is supposed to. Not that I don’t use foul language. But not regularly and certainly not to make my point in the sanest of conversations. Within minutes I got a hang of the character. Now I’m one with Chameli. She’s no different from any other woman, doing what she ‘s doing without apology. What I liked about this script is that Chameli isn’t in it by force. Sure she hates being a prostitute. But she’s no sobbing martyr who wants to get away from her wretched life. Chameli treats her profession like any other. I like her for it.”
