Posted:
'Salman is supposed to have even proposed to me'
Harneet Singh Posted: Jul 20, 2009 at 1133 hrs IST
ASIN THOTTUMKAL on films, tongue twisters, marriage proposals and stalkers
Describe the experience of living on your own.
So far, so good. I've wanted to do this ever since I turned 21. But then I came to Mumbai when I signed the Hindi version of Ghajini and my parents moved in with me. Even now they are just a hop, skip and jump away from my pad. But I'm loving my own space.
The people in my complex are really nice. The kids welcomed me with flowers and gave me laughing Buddha figurines, wind chimes and heart-shaped chocolates. They showed me around and thanks to them, I know that we have geese and ducks in the complex. We had a rain dance at a pool party. We've been playing volleyball and basketball.
But popularity has a side effect. Is it true you were being stalked recently?
Yes, that was scary. Some guy followed me from Indore to Singapore. I spotted him in my hotel lobby, at the mall and at the restaurant where I was having dinner. He followed me to the event that I had gone to Singapore for. I got really scared and ran away. I guess, such things happen and one just has to learn to deal with them.
Why didn't you go into a signing spree after Ghajini?
I'm a very secure person and I'd rather wait for something good to come my way than sign films in haste. After Ghajini, the only film I really wanted to be a part of was London Dreams and so I grabbed it with both hands.
What about the Indo-Japanese venture, The 19th Step?
It's been indefinitely postponed. I'm still attached to the project but am waiting to hear from the producers, Walt Disney and my co-star Kamal Hasan.
Was it the film you learnt Kalaripayattu for?
That's right. I took lessons in Kerala. I'm glad I did that because it's so graceful. I approached Kalaripayattu as a dancer would approach a movement. I loved handling the swords. I'm sure in some film I'll utilise my training.
Is it true Salman Khan's posters are all over your bedroom?
(Laughs) Please check my room. I don't even have my own pictures anywhere in the flat. I don't know how this rumour started. I'm pretty cool with it and so is Salman, I'm sure. He understands Bollywood media better than I do. So, it's no big deal for him.
He's also supposed to have gifted you this flat.
Oh, Salman is supposed to have gifted me 120 things. He is supposed to have even proposed to me, which he did in a scene from London Dreams but it was reported he did it in reality. He's also supposed to have gifted me a puppy and apparently on Onam, he also shopped for some crystal showpieces for me. Sadly, all these have just been reported in the tabloids. I haven't got anything from him.
How different are Aamir and Salman?
They have different approaches to work but on a personal level they are very similar. In a business that's all about creating an image, they are both all heart and completely genuine. On the professional front, Aamir likes to discuss scenes and improvises with his co-actors. Salman, on the other hand, just comes on the set and does the scene. He is more spontaneous.
Apparently you really hit it off well with your other London Dreams co-star, Ajay Devgan.
Ajay really surprised me. I always thought he was a very intense guy but once I met him I found he was the complete opposite of his screen image. He's a prankster and is always cracking jokes. He tried many pranks on me but I managed to see through all of them.
While shooting, Ajay and I had a contest on who could outdo the other in tongue twisters. Ajay would give me Hindi tongue twisters while I would give him English ones. He went mad trying to say, "The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep is sick." He gave me a toughie in "Oonth ooncha, oonth ki peeth oonchi, oonchi poonch oonth ki". I cracked it. (She says the tongue twister again to prove it).
How is it playing a rock musician in London Dreams?
Great fun and a complete contrast to my Ghajini look. I'm part of a music band in London. So I dress the part with lots of stockings, chains, boots and black eye shadow.
You seem to be getting a lot of followers on Twitter.
(Interrupts) I'm not on Twitter. Somebody is impersonating me. Through your newspaper, I want to clarify that I'm not on any social networking site'Twitter, Facebook or Orkut. Yesterday, an actress friend told me that she chatted with someone on Facebook, thinking it was me. It's very dangerous so I want everyone to know that it's not me.
What do you have to say about the media reports that your dad, Joseph Thottumkal, interferes in your work?
They are completely false. I discuss my projects with my dad but I take the final decision. I think the media is saying all this about my dad because they have nothing else to write about me. I don't have a boyfriend, I don't go to parties, I don't fight with other actresses so they are cooking up these stories. My dad is the coolest dad one can ever have. It's upsetting when people paint a completely different picture of your parent.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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