Sushmita is a thorough professional

What's your role in Chingari?

I play the character of the Madam of the brothel in which Sushmita Sen is a sex worker. The brothel is set in Northern India and my character is tailor-made for the setting.

Was this a conscious effort or did you accept this role out of lack of choice?

I don't let life dictate terms to me. I have always lived life on my own terms and will continue to do so in style. It's not the first time that I'm playing such a character. I've acted as a prostitute in Shyam Benegal's MANDI in 1983. Then again in 2004, I was offered the role of a Madam of a brothel for CHINGARI and I accepted it. It's not that I'm ageing or that I do not have options to choose from. I'm doing well in my career and I don't need to succumb to any sort of pressures. Besides there have been many actresses who've enacted such roles before. There's nothing to feel wary of it. Earlier Shaukat Azmi enacted such a role in UMRAO JAAN and now her daughter Shabana Azmi is enacting the very same role in J.P. Dutta's UMRAO JAAN. I think more than anything else it's the role and not the age of the actor that becomes the deciding factor.

How was the experience with Sushmita Sen?

It was awe-inspiring. Sushmita is a thorough professional and a very talented actor. We had an amazingly thrilling experience working together. There were times when we laughed together and there were times when we cried together in some scenes. The script is very touching and we got so involved in it that we were never actors; we were always the characters that we played in the film.

And how was it working with Kalpana Lajmi?

She has proved her mettle as a filmmaker time and again. She is the person she is not only because of what she is in real life but more so because of her achievements in filmdom. She is a dedicated maker who knows exactly what she wants from her actors and she gets just that. In short, she is every actor's dream-come-true. Need I say anything more?