Actor misses verdant old Bengaluru
About The Rendezvous... do you agree that the music in your time was far more melodious and memorable?
That music was created for a cinema that no longer exists. Where is the space for those kind of films? And when content has changed, there is no opportunity to make the kind of music that was a part of our films. So many love stories were made in our times and there was space to write beautiful lyrics, create atmospheric melodies. Today, violence drives most of our cinema and we see today ki car explode ho gayi... aasmaan pe chali gayi (Today cars are blown up right up to the sky) so the music has to fit in the context.
In life or in cinema, what do you attribute the violence to?
There is so much ferociousness today. There is an unrelenting rat race that parents buy into when they pressure their kids to get top ranks. So a mere 60 per cent is not good enough. Kids must score above 90 per cent and so many teenagers kill themselves because they can't cope with the pressure. Young people are driven to choose high-pressure careers. There is no acceptance for the way things are. No shaanti. No patience.
How do you look at today's cinema?
What I notice is that actors are much more open today to doing all kinds of roles, which was not the case in our times. Back then, a leading lady always had to be a leading lady. Abhi woh bandish nikal gayi hai (such constraints are not there anymore). Experimental trends are also seeping into the commercial arena with films like Kahaani, Barfi, and Paan Singh Tomar. Among the actors today, I like Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan. I have heard very good things about Alia Bhatt too, bahut tareef hai uski. These are very natural performers and are hard working.
Last year, in March, you lost a dear friend Nanda...
Yes, she was very close to me. What can I tell you about her... there are so many memories. We had lunch on Saturday and on Tuesday, she was gone. It was all so sudden and shocking. This year too, on March 25, I was constantly thinking of her. There are so many things that keep her memory fresh.
You have been working sporadically in films...
Yes, Delhi 6 came in 2009 and now I am in Aparna Sen's Bengali film, Arshinagar (a contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet), where I play a grandmother.
You have lived your life with a lot of grace and dignity. What is the one thing you have always believed in?
Everyone's life is full of ups and downs. My credo is that no matter what happens, do not kill yourself trying to change what cannot be changed. Wait it out. If a certain phase is bad, try to focus on the positives and don't feel sorry for yourself. I have never said to myself, why did this happen to me?' but made the best of what was. I am happy because I have always known I can be.
Udne Ki Aasha
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