Article - Kitty Don't Be Silly [Romilla]

MUMBAI, Monday, July 24, 2006

Kitty, don't be silly!

Actress Sushmita Mukherjee refuses to play Kitty, the scatter-brained secretary of Karamchand in the new series that goes on air

Aditi Jayakar Kane

The carrot-chomping sleuth Karamchand will soon be seen on television after a passage of two decades. However, fans are disappointed that the detective's assistant – the absentminded Kitty won't be the same, as Sushmita Mukherjee refused to play the character this time.

"There are many reasons why I turned down the role. First of all, I wasn't sure if I could play a character that I had played more than 20 years ago with the same degree of conviction," says Sushmita. "I have moved on. I have two young children too. So I couldn't give the director the kind of time he wanted."

The actress feels that had it been an offer she couldn't refuse she certainly would have taken it up. "The offer they made didn't seem exciting enough in terms of screen space and money. Then director Pankaj Parashar himself mentioned that he was thinking of casting a younger girl as Kitty. I felt relieved and told him to go right ahead," she says.

But won't Sushmita miss being Kitty, when the serial goes on air? And who does she think can do a good job as Kitty? "I had a very good time shooting for the role when I was younger. The serial was very popular and even today, I am deeply attached to it. I wish the team all the best," says Sushmita. "As for the casting, I think there's a lot of talent around. Recently, a girl who was going to audition for Kitty's role called up to ask for tips and I willingly helped her out."

Although a talented actress, Sushmita hasn't been very prolific in her work. The only serial she is acting in at the moment is Kavyanjali, which is soon going to wind up. Did Sushmita intentionally maintain a low profile?

"Well, I have two sons aged 11 and 12. I don't want to bring up monsters. They need my time and attention and I only sign offers if I feel it's worthy to be away from home. I would like to emphasise that the industry is very unforgiving to women who have children. Acting is a job. And like any other job we should have 9 to 6 shifts so that we can go home to have dinner with our family," says Sushmita.

Recently, she received an offer to play a vamp in a serial, and she is still considering it. "I liked my character of Romila Nanda in Kavyanjali and I will miss her. She was kind and sympathetic and made me feel good at the end of the day. All the same, I enjoy doing comedy the best," she says.

The latest film the actress has acted in is the recently released Golmaal. "I'm working in Good Boy Bad Boy too. I keep receiving offers to act in films. I enjoy doing voice-overs too, like I did for Hanuman. I even lent my voice for Julie Andrews in the Hindi version of The Princess Diaries. This satisfies my urge for doing theatre, for which I have no time otherwise," says Sushmita.

• the offer they made didn't seem exciting enough in terms of screen space and money. Then director Pankaj Parashar himself mentioned that he was thinking of casting a younger girl as Kitty. I felt relieved and told him to go ahead —Sushmita Mukherjee