Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
Shailaja Bajpai
The first word she uttered was a deeply unsatisfying ``Ummmm''. Then the silly fellow asked if she was immodest. ``Completely.'' Her eyebrows cha-cha-cha-ed, her eyes danced, her teeth smiled (they did too). And there was no stopping her: she spoke of a great childhood, why her father wanted to name her Mercedes (because he went round the Benz!), how Enid Blyton's St.Claire novels inspired her to attend boarding school, that had she been her grandmother, she would have definitely killed herself because as granddaughters went, she was a handful... college bored her ``out of her skull,'' taking about herself bored her ``because it limits conversation,' and no, she didn't think she was a great actress, and yes, she loved her husband very much..... Say hello to Kajol, who in her favorite phrase, was ``generally having a ball.'' (Face to Face, BBC).
Thank Karan Thapar for so thoughtfully interviewing her. This is perhaps her first full scale television interview. She was utterly-butterly delightful. Theimportance of being Kajol lies in her naturalness: she scratched her nose, she tugged an eyelash, she beetled her eyebrows together, she pulled the hair off her face, she threw back her head. And giggled. At 24 years of age (hard as it's to believe), she has all the freshness of her youth but it's her amazing self possession and vivacity which lends Kajol such charm. In films, she's been a compelling mixture of impish humour, feminine gracefulness and smouldering tempestuousness. All of which were on ample display during this encounter. And you felt an actress (not star) is waiting to be born.
Unlike other superstars (and there are too many to name), she wasn't a smug bug. She would pause and try for sensibility, in the nicest sense of the word. When asked of her parents failed marriage, she spoke of seeing them as individuals; when Thapar wanted to know what mattered to Kajol, she replied, ``(that) I shouldn't disappoint myself.'' Did her first Filmfare award matter? ``Not in the long run''. When told thatmen didn't fantasize about a married woman, she sighed, gratefully, ``thank god!'' She admitted to moodiness, tempestuosity and being very critical of her work. True or false, she did sound sensible.
Of course there were no searing insights into the film industry, no earth-shattering revelations about herself, Devgan, her family or other actors/directors. Not even if she would act without Ajay. But then Thapar never asked her (perhaps he had been asked not to?). Still, if this is a bit over the top (and it is) put it down to the fact that here was a young, attractive, intelligent person who was revelling her human condition. That's rare enough to deserve inordinate praise.
Onto Doordarshan which has changed its daily soaps. Goodbye Aurat, Aparajita, Itihaas, Waqt ki Raftar, hello Kamyabi, Tulsi, Aur Intezaar Sahi, Dewaar. Difficult to define them. Deewar is about family/ business rivalries, love and Revenge with a capital R. Aur Intezaar Sahi seems similar, but set in Calcutta; Tulsi began as a serialabout a motherless girl making her way through life with an alcoholic father and step mom but already there's a lot about politics and professional rivalries. And frankly, Kamyabi is a bit of a mystery. It appears to be about a man who loves the girl of the mother who is entirely dependent on his father's goodwill for continuing subsistence, but he marries another woman and is in the process of proving the impossible (?!): that a man and woman can be `just friends'.
Agnichakra is the latest docu-drama, a ``movement against crime''. Bhanwar is about trials, and India's Most Wanted chases criminals; Agnichakra takes up cases which have been solved. Cases in which human beings stood up to be counted. A fortnight ago, a weak man refuses to buckle under when he's threatened with extortion. Last week, an aged villager witnesses the strangulation of his neighbour's wife and seeks justice for her inspite of his son's fears and the neighbour's threats. The series is taut with the tension of a crime mystery and theacting is refreshingly low key.
Ally McBeal (STAR World). She is the outsider (far out). She is dark humour (pitch dark). She has Style, Sophistication, Slickness. And she has a white, waif face: so devastatingly poker-faced. She is a scream. Last week, there's this man who loves to tickle, suck. A woman's toes. Miss Twinkle Toes doesn't (love it); she takes him to court. Ally McBeal and the entire team treat this offense on par with serial killings or a rape. This is, undoubtedly, the best serial across channels. And please even as you strap in your guts on account of them spilling out with laughter, please appreciate the loving care with which the serial has been shot. It treats the small screen like the big one.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------