WARNING: This is a fictitious interview. Please take this post with not only a pinch but also a Tank of salt and please do not send me PMs asking for addresses of the artists.
This is my first interview with an Assassin!! I am a bit hesitant in meeting Krutika Desai famously known as Gargi. Her screen reputation precedes her. I have been invited to meet her in her pad, cause it is her day off shooting. I land up promptly fearing reprimand. Knowing the lady's temperament in the serial, I dare not disturb the hornet's nest. I ring the doorbell and wait; the door is answered by a maid who informs me "memsaab abhi aayegi. Andhar aakar baithno ko kahan hai". I take a seat and wait nervously for Madam Gargi to blow the living daylights out of me for scheduling an interview on her day off! Uff, this tension is killing me and my palms are sweaty. Finally the lady emerges looking dashing in light blue jeans and a white shirt. She greets me warmly and requests the maid to get some refreshment. She inquires about me and we get into a little chitchat. I find her very amiable and polite. Quite unlike her screen personna. One think that strikes me is that she is very young. The lady has sure maintained herself well.
I had sharpened my claws and canines for the purpose of the interview and to be used in self-defence if the necessity arises. Therefore, I decide to put them to good use immediately. Rabba mujhe bachaley!
Me: Good morning Krutika.
KD: Good Morning Simran.
Me: (I decide to put forward the mellow questions first) Have you been enjoying playing Gargi in TD?
KD: "Very much. I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't" (Smiles very sweetly)
Me: (Phew!! That was easy) What made you choose negative roles?
KD: "Har kisiko dekho, they want to play the good roles. They want to be nice. It's all too boring to be be nice. It's the bad people who have more fun these days. So I decided to be thodi hatke! I am having good fun and in fact, I am amazed to find that I have a mean bone in me to play such roles with alacrity. If you take any serial today, it's the negative character who walks away with the accolades and even have a lot of fanfare". (She lists a few) " For instance, take Aryan of Jassi, Hrishi in Kahin tho Hota, Ansh in Kyonki, Komolika in Kasaulti, Mohini in Kyonki. They have a lot of fans who adore them and in some instances are even more popular than the lead characters of the serials. Gone are the days when villains and vamps are not liked. Today the guys and gals who do these roles are equally good-looking as the heroes or the heroines. In some cases these guys have more brawn and style than the heros. The vamps too are as pretty as the heroines. Therefore, even heroes and heroines are clamoring for negative roles! " (Laughs)
Me. (Smile and agree) Very true. But don't you think you'll get typecast into the same kind of roles once you start doing vampish roles?
KD: "There is a possibility. But ultimately it all depends on me whether I want to do the role or not. No one is putting a gun to my head to do the role. (I think to myself who would dare to!!) I can always refuse a role whether its negative or positive. I look at the script, look at what the role requires me to do, I look at the depth of the role and how it is presented. Only if I like what I see and the role appeals to me, do I sign on the dotted line. If it is the usual stuff, I refuse them. I have done a lot of Gujarati dramas on stage. So if I feel that creativity is lacking in my roles, I can always go back to theatre"
Me: Does Gargi spill over in your real life? Mera mutlab, do you have any of the Gargi traits? (I look around to see if she has got anything to throw at me)
KD:(laughs) "Kya baat kar rahi ho? Do I look a murderer to you from any angle"? (Pretending to be upset, she then smiles and continues) "Well, I'll be a hypocrite if I say I am too good! (Laughs). We all have some wild streaks in us. Pushed to an extent we all reveal our dark side. That's human nature. But no, I am not calculative or as cruel as Gargi. I Wish I was, I can avoid a lot of the pain and frustrations in life."
Me: You look too young to be a mother for DK who looks as old as you. Did you at any point refuse to play mom to DK or Ved?
KD: "Thank you for the compliment. DK is my stepson, so that is okay with me. Ved is like my son and even after the shoot, I continue to call him beta. I did not think that I am too young to play a mom. I always liked doing unconventional stuff so it was perfectly okay with me"
Me: Your make up and wardrobe is different in TD. You have certain trade mannerisms and accessories. Is that deliberate on your part?
KD: "I like to be different. The makers wanted to toy with different looks for all the characters in TD. If you see in TD, all the characters have a trademark that differentiates them. Be it their style of dressing, make up or their accessories. So I was given the studs on the eyelids. Initially, when I started it was the coloured stands of hair to match my attire. Today, there are too many serials on TV. Everyone is trying to ape the other. So we too have to do something to be different. We do not want to be in a crowd" (smiles) (I must admit, she looks damn good when she smiles!)
Me: When you are not shooting, what do you do?
KD:" I spend time with my family and friends, go shopping or read a book. I love jewellery even though I don't wear much jewellery personally. But I try to use as many on Serials". (laughs)
Me: So do you spend all your money on jewellery?
KD: "I love collecting them (laughs) and have a good collection of family heirlooms passed on to me".
Me: Any particular favourites?
KD: "I love platinum and diamonds. But I also like gold. As I said, I don't wear heavy jewellery in real life but I love collecting them. Aanewaali bahu ko dedenge"
Me: Lucky girl
KD: (Laughs)
Me: What kind of mother in law do you think you will make?
KD: (Laughs) "The wicked kind! You know the kind you see in Serials" (Laughs). "No seriously, times are changing. People are changing their outlook and how they look at bahus today. Most girls marrying today are working girls and therefore, gone are the days where you get the subdued bahus or you subjugate them. Girls are independent not only in their thinking but are self-sufficient too. Women are more emancipated in India today. I think I will be a broad-minded mother in law. I was a daughter in law once and I will not forget that. It's a circle of life. If we all remember that, life will be pleasant and easier for all."
Me: What kind of a daughter in law would you like to have?
KD: "Ab is ke bare men mein tho socha bhi nahin. Tum kya mujhe saas bana ke hi chodogi? Whom ever my son brings is fine with me (Laughs). It's his choice not mine. I can only advise him. Beyond that, I think it will depend on him to choose the girl. I have to learn to adjust with whomever it is"
Me: What if he brings a girl like Pori? (I am seated on the edge of my chair ready to dart to the door)
KD: (Laughs) "Tum badi badmash ho! (Laughing) "I have not given it a thought. Abhi tho zaroor sochna padega" (Laughs) "I hope not! I will be damned" (Laughs)
Me: (suddenly feeling bad for her) I am sure your son will bring home a girl like Disha
KD: (Smiles very sweetly) "Yeh hui na baat. The one I can dominate and manipulate" (Laughs) "Sub naseeb ki baat hai. Dekhthe hai aage aage kya hota hai"
Me: You sound like a nice saas
KD: "Thank you. Jub banoongi tab meri bahuse aake pooch lena. Zaroor hum bhi sun na chahenge" (Laughs and Smiles very sweetly)
Me: (laughing) what does your family say about your negative roles? Do they comment on it?
KD: (Laughing) "Good question. When I had DK killed, my husband must have got the message". (Laughing hysterically and then getting serious) "They support me in all my decisions. My husband is not the interfering kind. He is an actor too and therefore we know what this profesion demands and know to keep our professional and personal lives separate. Of course they do give their opinion if they do not like something they say that I could have done it differently. I do not take any offence to their opinion. Everyone is entitled to it. Bhai, it's a role and the writers depict the character and write the dialogues. How the character is seen on screen ultimately depends on how well the role is enacted by the artist. The little nuances, the extra personal touches and the improvisation that the artist puts in, all these play a major role in bringing out a character well".
Me: (I nod) So how much of Gargi is from your side (I grin widely to hide my fear)
KD: "It depends on the scene. It depends on my mood too. If I am in a foul mood it brings out the best of the worst in me" (Laughs) "but I have done a lot of theatre and therefore have the knack of prompt improvisations and that has helped me a lot in shaping Gargi"
Me: Do you like Gargi?
KD: "Kya bhuri hai usmen"? (Laughs then getting serious) "I like her spunk and her attitude. I like her never say die attitude and of course her jeene ka style. Yeh role karke bada maza aaya!" (Laughs and continues). "When I do a scene if the other artist with whom I interact is doing his/her role with equal conviction tho phir aur bhi maza aata hai. Often once the scene is canned we have a big laugh about it"
Me: Have you ever thought of emulating Gargi?
KD: (She bursts out laughing) "Idea bhuri nahin hai. Just imagine me a real life Gargi" (Laughs) "Bechara producers" (Laughs) "Once I come home I forget about Gargi. I have so many nice things to do in life than emulating her"
Me: Thank you Krutika for taking out your personal time for me. I am honoured
KD: Thank you for coming and giving me the opportunity to address the member of the IF.
As I came out of Krutika's house only one thought came to my mind. This lady is very courageous to tackle Film, stage and TV Serials. She dares to be different in whatever she does. She's strong willed and spunky. One poem kept popping up in my mind, that of Robert Frost's and my favourite "The Road not taken"
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
My next interview will be with Chavvi Mittal Nee Hussein. Watchout for my posting.
Love
Simran
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