Getting Khatti Meethi With Reema Lagoo!

"I'VE NEVER BEEN INTERESTED IN SAAS-BAHU SERIALS. I CAN'T STAND SERIALS WITH REDUNDANT SUBJECTS"

THIS WAS WHAT YOU CALL AN ACCIDENTAL INTERVIEW. A CHANCE VISIT TO THE KADVEE KHATTI MEETHI SET TURNED INTO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A BRIEF YET HIGHLY INTERESTING TTE--TTE WITH THE ERSTWHILE REEL-LIFE MOTHER OF EVERY TOP FILM STAR IN THE COUNTRY. THAT OF COURSE, IS REEMA LAGOO. BE IT A YASHRAJ FILM, A DHARMA PRODUCTION AND VERY OBVIOUSLY ANY BARJATYA MOVIE, REEMA LAGOO HAS TO PLAY THE EVER SACRIFICING, ALWAYS READY WITH ADVICE, 'READY TO BREAK INTO TEARS AT ANY MOMENT' MOTHER, WHO SUPPORTS HER CHILD NO MATTER WHAT.

ST: You are hardly anything like your popular screen characterizations?

RL: In real time, I am as forthright as they come and have no qualms about calling a spade a spade. I have had my share of the limelight, and am no longer interested in chasing the 'monies' as they call it. It's all about doing quality work now. Why take up something just for the heck of it?

ST: Your Bollywood image is very much of the sweet, loving mother but your television audience remembers you as the saucy, insolent mother-in-law, always out to get your unsuspecting daughter-in-law (Supriya Pilgaonkar) in Sachin's Tu Tu Main Main. How do you feel about this?

RL: Well, the show is back, albeit in a new avatar, with an extended star cast and a new name to boot, Kadvee Khatti Meethi. And I am just as excited about it, as I was when Tu Tu Main Main had just begun. This has always been an interesting show for me, I enjoyed it then, and I'm enjoying shooting for it now too. It's the same set-up, similar environment, and except for a few new additions to the cast, everything's the same. It feels like family.

ST: Isn't there a feeling of dj vu? Like she's already been there and done that?

RL: Why would I feel that way? They haven't changed the format of the show but the situations will definitely change. As of now, it's not feeling repetitive. We'll be handling topics of the new generation, which should be fun.

ST: To whom the credit for the success of the show should go?

RL: I will attribute the immense success of the show to the amazing chemistry shared by the star cast and the writers and everyone involved. Over the years, our chemistry has just got better and better. Not only have we matured as actors, but also the tuning that Sachin, the writers and I share is amazing. Also, the language we use is so real, people can relate to it.

ST: But the most laudable chemistry is the one shared by
Reema and Supriya.

RL: You won't believe it, but we hardly ever rehearse. The script is read maybe once or twice, everything else is spontaneous. It's a very impulsive thing between us. I know exactly how she'll react and vice-versa, which means there's no need for us to plan everything out.

ST: Apart from Kadvee Khatti Meethi, why have you not taken up any television work?

RL: It's a conscious decision; I've always chosen to do very little work on TV. And nothing I've done has been substandard. If you've noticed, ever since Shrimaan Shrimati, I've only taken up selective work.

ST: The same would go for films because it's been quite a while since we've seen her on the big screen.

RL: I'm not doing any Hindi films because I'm looking for proper roles. I'm concentrating on Marathi films like Aai Shappath instead, where I'm getting to play characters which are different.

ST: Is that why she's not doing the Rajshri film, Vivah? Or is there something we don't know? RL: It's nothing like that. There was no role for me in Vivah. So what would I take up? When you'll see the film, you'll realize what I'm saying.

ST: But why hasn't she given a thought to popular saas-bahu shows?

RL: Because I've never-ever been interested in saas-bahu serials. I could never see myself in that set-up. Even though Tu Tu Main Main had Supriya and me arguing constantly, at the end of it all, there's love between us. And that's shown in the serial as well. I don't understand all the manipulation and scheming that happens in these typical saas-bahu shows. Very honestly, I can't stand serials with redundant subjects. I feel they send wrong messages to society. The only things you see are decked up women, in the kitchen all day, who have no other work, but to scheme and come up with dirty plans to ruin everyone's life. I'm much happier doing theatre where my energies are better channelized.