Kajol’s newest screen baby, ‘We are Family’

It’s probably the first time at the cinemas that a leading actress of a film is ‘in the family way’ and is part of a film aptly titled ‘We Are Family’. Kajol is due with her second baby in October while her newest screen baby hits the cinemas on September 3. Dressed in an orange-red sleeveless gown, the expectant mother is looking tired yet sails through the interview with her trademark candour (had a first-hand experience of it in my very first interview with her) and that infectious guffaw!

All the questions are met with delightfully honest answers be it about Nysa (“she wants a baby sister because she already has seven cousin brothers and wants mummy to even out the odds”), her husband (“he’s good in ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’ and you can say I trained him in acting,” she says half-jokingly), her mother, or the new arrival (“waiting for it to come soon”) and even her screen-space-sharing-co-star, Kareena Kapoor (“she has definitely become thinner from ‘K3G’ days when we last worked together”)!

She can be intimidating too. At least the reports suggest that. Haven’t we read it all about she doesn’t suffer fools, works on her own terms and conditions even if that means turning down several films? Even her co-stars are reportedly in awe of them, not to forget people who are working with her for the first time? “I guess those who find me intimidating or at least say that they find me unapproachable are those who don’t want to hear the truth. I don’t like to sugarcoat things. We work in an industry where everyone likes to be diplomatic. I would rather say things on your face. If I don’t like you I’ll say, ‘Thanks for coming but hey, I am not too comfortable with you’. It’s very very important for me to be honest with myself. I can’t make others happy just for the sake of it. I won’t sing a different tune once you turn your back. It’s scary to have people around you who you know would be b*tching about you behind your back! I would rather know where I stand with people who I love or work with. For me, to know that equation is vital.”

And she knew she was in safe hands with first time director Siddharth Malhotra but of course after she was rest assured of it. “For any actor, no matter how good he or she is, it would be lazy to go into a film thinking your director will bring you through. You can’t stop working hard depending only on your director. Of course, I was apprehensive about Siddharth. I had loved the script though at that point of time I had told Karan (Johar, producer of the film) I needed to take at least a three-month break. Working on ‘My Name is Khan‘ was exhausting and I was tired to even think of another film but I loved the script and I was on.

“But after the first schedule of the film, I knew I had made the right choice.  A good script is not all what an actor requires. Sometimes it could land up with an incompetent director or the producer may not be sound or experienced enough to see it through so you have your worries.”

We Are Family as everyone and their dog knows by now is a remake of the Susan Sarandon – Julia Roberts starrer, ‘Stepmom‘. It’s about a terminally ill divorcee who has to reluctantly entrust her three children with the new woman in her husband’s life. Kajol plays Maya, Susan’s counterpart. “But we have Indianised the film suitably. ‘We Are Family’ could not have been made in English. It wouldn’t have worked at all. There are many things we have changed though I am not very comfortable with the idea of remakes. They are better left alone.”

She adds that the film has focused more on the interpersonal relationship between the two women. “That’s the most interesting part. Arjun (Rampal) has a pivotal role but the tension the two women share is pretty interesting.”

Talking about the other woman, Kajol says there were no catfights or petty showdowns between the two women in Arjun’s on-screen life. “We would read a scene and understand how we were going to do it. It was different from ‘K3G’ as we hardly shot together in that film.” Er, one heard she was patient too. “Patient? I don’t know about that but yes, she was professional. And thinner too,” she chuckles.

The film has Maya trusting the other woman with her three children. Would she in real life trust her children with anyone else? “No chance! I won’t and I can’t trust ANYONE with my daughter. Because I believe no one can take care of her the way I do. Of course, you have nannies, my mother, my mother-in-law, my sister to look after Nysa when the situation arises and I know for a fact they take great care of her but not the way I do. I am absolutely sure of that!” she says her brandy eyes, rolling.

She then talks of a “mother’s voice the way I call it which every mother has and thank God for that when it comes to bringing up your children. I still remember my mother would blow a seeti (whistle) to call me and Tanisha. That was her voice. We would start trembling the minute we heard that familiar whistle. Even today if I had to hear it within 200 metres of my vicinity I would instantly know it’s her! Like it happens in old Hindi films, I want my children to know that ‘mother’s voice’ even after they are grown up. Like I would say ‘bachcha’ in one corner of the world and they would respond ‘Yes, Mom’ from the other,” she laughs out loud.

Which baby is she more anxious about? And was it a good thing she had two coming up distracting her one from the other? “I am not very anxious about my baby because I know what to expect. I am cool about the film too. I have done everything possible to make the film better and even now I am working at it, talking to all you guys in this state, so am cool. As for distraction, no way anything could distract a woman from this,” she says pointing to her huge bulge, adding, “It’s there 24 X 7.”

Finally, her films still come along with a lot of hype and expectations. Is she amused or secretly happy with all the attention? “Why secretly? I am publicly happy. I guess the expectations and the attention people give to my films is a compliment to my intelligence, to the choices I have made. As for expectations, I won’t and can’t kill myself for something that’s beyond my control.”

She signs off saying that films are a “part of my life. They are not apart from it. Acting in a film is as much work for me as looking after my daughter or family. A woman can go insane juggling all responsibilities and so I feel a film is like a break for me from my family and vice versa. I am happy in both the spaces but won’t trade one for the other.”

PS: I was never a big fan of Kajol. At least never understood what the fuss was about. But having met her, one thing is for sure, I know why most people like her! She seems more real than most heroines I have met.

-Kshama Rao