Olympia in London will always be an important place for Yukta Mookhey. It was there she was crowned Miss World in 1999. The following year she handed the crown to fellow Indian Priyanka Chopra. Yukta has enjoyed stretching herself in her latest movie, the much-delayed Memsaab. “I was very excited when I first heard the script of the movie,” she says. “It sounded interesting and the role was also a big challenge for me. Also, it was a woman-oriented role, so I accepted it happily. I had to work a lot on my character. I hope the audience likes me in the film.”
Yukta’s film career has not been as prolific as Priyanka’s, although she did catch the eye in Pyaar, a generally disappointing film. Is she very careful about choosing her roles? “For me, Bollywood does not mean showing flesh,” she explains. Adding, “It doesn’t even mean running around trees with the hero. Movies such as Julie, Murder, Hawas, etc. are not my cup of tea. I did not find any good scripts though offers kept pouring in. I believe one should do a subject that motivates. I would really love to do women-centric roles. I am also interested in doing period films.”
Yukta is not just a pretty face. There are many sides to her character, including her interest in social issues. She has just completed a documentary on child labour. “I have been actively involved with a lot of social cause related events and programmes. Hence, when I was asked to work in a documentary on child labour, I readily accepted,” she explained.
