‘I am a magnet for hard experiences!’

Calcutta:

It's always been special, right from my homecoming days, when I came back after becoming Miss World. It was such a warm reception… the interaction with the people… interaction with the media was so memorable… very, very warm. Even though people were familiar with who I was before I won the title, for some reason because of the way my surname was pronounced ('Ray'), people actually thought I was Bengali as well. It's been part of my life for the longest time. Who would have thought today I would be wearing a loha (laughs)? My mother-in-law being Bengali, the connect has just continued. When I did Chokher Bali and even Raincoat, although it was in Hindi, working with Rituda (Rituparno Ghosh) was very special. Then my interaction with Mother Teresa's home. These are very special and distinct memories and I treasure them… hold them very dear.

Her crazy schedule:

I arrived in India just two-and-a-half days ago. I wrapped up work in Peru and Brazil (for Robot), came to Paris for two days and then flew in. Technically I should be jetlagging majorly… Also, I flew into Mumbai for a short time — today I am in Calcutta, tomorrow I am in Delhi, then I am off to Goa for Shankar's schedule of Robot, and then Mani's (Ratnam) film… So I am on the road. In Mumbai, it's been a full two-and-a-half days of work and there were very few hours of sleep that I could pack in.

The Drona premiere:

The premiere (in Mumbai on Thursday) was wonderful and very well-attended. Being part of the fraternity, let alone the fact that I am Abhishek's wife, I know how precious the premiere day or pre-release day is for the entire team that makes the movie. We are not really making movies for private viewing or personal pleasure… we enjoy the art form but it's eventually made for the audiences. My perception is that it is always a joyous day, a day of celebration, a moment to cherish and enjoy irrespective of how the movie is viewed or received. The whole team was very, very touched and pleased with the tremendous response.

DEFENDING Drona:

I saw the movie the night before the premiere. And it was way past midnight. It had been a long day of work… I was technically tired. But I could still see the movie through and through, right into the early hours. To me, I was very taken in by this amazing visual experience. I could see the efforts of the entire team. You could see the creative effort, the hard work that's gone in in every department… cinematography, costumes, content, action… It's just so commendable… You feel proud and you recognise it's a very brave effort. What I liked about the character Drona, he is not a superhero… and Abhishek has been reiterating it in every interview and I hope he is heard… This is about a normal boy who recognises certain potentials in him and has personal demons to fight. That made him very human, very real. You may ask why is this guy not flexing his muscles and flying? Because he is not that guy.

If I had said good things about Drona on Wednesday evening, before anyone said that, I would have been termed 'biased'. But I am very pleased that members of the fraternity said that because they know what it takes. You envision these things… and now the first steps are being taken to achieve that vision. The SMS-es we have received… Shah Rukh said it there in person. Ashu (Ashutosh Gowariker), Rakeysh (Omprakash Mehra) said it… They were like that it's fantastic that such projects are being greenlighted. It's a risk but it's great to see it happening. I viewed it the way I viewed Clash of the Titans, the way I viewed Neverending Story or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or the way we had read Amar Chitra Katha. I heard Amar Singhji talk about a movie called Patal Bhairavi but that's virtually a generation before. Excuse my ignorance but I can't remember movies like Drona being made in India. That's exactly the way it should be viewed. It's not to be broken down or sieved through or bal ka khaal be done with this movie.

Durga Puja:

I hope at some point of time in my life, we manage to be here and celebrate Durga Puja in this city. I view it like the rest of the nation, through the media. It's spectacular, it's special and I love our country for precisely this… I love the diversity, the festivities, the celebrations we have… It's just another emotional experience altogether. And I have been lucky to subtly be associated with the festival in some way. Be it Devdas… or even in Chokher Bali, the ambience was there… I am glad I have had the experience through celluloid… I am now looking forward to the real thing in this city. In Mumbai, whenever I have been in the city during the Puja, I would go with my parents and brother to Ramakrishna Mission in Khar. It's beautiful… the aarti is so beautiful, so exhilarating. And the statue of Ma with all the decorations around is riveting. She is kind and smiling and compassionate… The eyes are just so powerful.

Scrutiny as bahu:

I am not focusing on that. We are not casual about it but it's a way of life and you have to recognise that reality. There's no running away from life as it is. You embrace your reality and definitely discover the strength you have to deal with it. This is something that has been instilled inside me by my parents, without telling me. It's naturally inculcated over the years. That's what I have carried forth when I have come into this family, which has also been experiencing the same for three generations now. And… I am home (laughs)! And we are family…

Married life:

Time is flying. This is the pace we have known and this is the pace we have been continuing. At the same time people's love and affection is so precious they still make me feel like a new bride. It's still so fresh, it's still so today and I am blessed to enjoy the feeling still. I am very very thankful for it. Life for a woman, and I am a woman, is fantastic because it is so multi-faceted. You get such full experiences in every role in life. Of a daughter to begin with, a sister, a friend, today a wife, a daughter-in-law and tomorrow obviously will hold motherhood… a mother-in-law (laughs). I embrace each role of life and I live it to the fullest. You never knew that you could pack in so much in every day of your life. But you can and you do. It's real and it's wonderful.

Forthcoming films:

Pink Panther is due for release in February. I took a bit of a break which I have never have in my career and which I never thought I would or I could… I planned it that way because dadima (Teji Bachchan) was always critical and as it so happened she did pass away in December. I had kept that time out and I spent that time with the family. Robot was to start around April but that got delayed because the writer passed away. When I did leave on the world tour and then started filming, I cannot believe that it was actually a six-month break. The Unforgettable Tour has been a fulfilling experience, personally and professionally… It was really hard, hard work. But Robot is even tougher… I am a magnet for hard experiences! Each time it gets tougher. In Machu Picchu, it meant a hike everyday… the day starts with that, lunchtime you come down and then go up all the way and then again in the evening. It's been an adventure just to get that. Then we start Mani's movie Ravan, which promises to be very hard work.

Doing Bengali films:

I would love to. Rituda and me… he discusses every project with me, right since Chokher Bali. So I know every story of his films and he does run it by me. We have always discussed availability and so far it hasn't worked out, otherwise I would have been in every one of his films… every one of them. With pleasure. I love the ideas he comes up with — they are simple yet very detailed and deep. Let's see what the future holds. I loved Last Lear. And again, this is not because he is my father-in-law but I salute that performance. To be able to do that with such elan, with such pizzazz and yet in such real manner, to be able to render Shakespeare like that… he isn't The Mr Amitabh Bachchan for nothing. I have total respect and absolute love as his daughter.