What is Sushmita Sen up to?
Lakshmi Menon

WHATEVER Sushmita Sen does makes news. Whether it is the ups and downs of her career or her silicon implants, the affair with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt that went sour or the baby girl she adopted recently, she has been under constant public scrutiny ever since the Miss Universe title came her way six years ago.

Many feel that for a woman of her intellect, sensitivity and erudition, entering films was a wrong career move. Unlike other Bollywood heroines, she has an intelligent face and is too tall for most of the top heroes around. Little wonder, the start was shaky as the film industry took time to get used to her.

But now Sushmita is on a roll. As she puts it, she is "growing" in the right direction and after ‘Fiza’, is thrilled at the way her career is shaping up. "I came to Bombay really to start a new life in a new fashion, but for everybody else, expectations were sky high," she explains.

"I didn’t start with the biggest box-office hit of the year. I started with three films and all of them were flops. But it was the right way to make a beginning as I could learn from my mistakes. I have learnt from every single film I have done and am enjoying the experience thoroughly."

Today, Sushmita has some of the biggest films on the floors — ‘Bus Itna Sa Kaam Hai’ with Abhishek Bachchan, David Dhawan’s ‘Kyunki Main Jhoot Nahin Bolta’ with Govinda and Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Barf’ opposite Manoj Bajpai, which is written by Gulzar.

But is is Gulzar’s daughter, Meghna’s directorial debut, ‘Filhaal’ (in which she is pitted with Tabu and Manoj Bajpai) that excites her most. "It is one of those films every actress looks forward to in her life and career," Sushmita says without elaborating on her role or character.

"Actually, what excites me most as an actress is when a director comes and says only you can do this. Meghna told me that for ‘Filhaal’. After all every actor has a very distinct style of performance and gets known for that. In a way it is the persona you project and people get used to seeing that." So what is the Sushmita Sen persona?

"Exactly as you see her," she quips. "I am just as good, bad or ugly in real life as you see me on screen. All my movies have some part of Sushmita Sen and people who know me have often come back to say that the character I have portrayed is so much like me. You’ll find this all the more obvious in ‘Filhaal’."

She however, regrets being misrepresented by the media and the impression people get about her. "I hate it when people are made to guess about who you are and make their own presumptions and ideas about you," she explains.

"But then, this is the price I suppose everybody has to pay for fame," she shrugs. "Of course, there may be some truths written, but by and large most things you read are untrue. I have stopped retaliating because lies don’t last too long and ultimately, your honesty shows."

The honesty can be self-depreciating when Sushmita says she has no pretensions about being an actress. "I am not a brilliant actress," she asserts. "I am a spontaneous actress because I’ve not learnt acting. I have come here very raw and that rawness has grown with time into a kind of technique."

As for the future, she sees herself getting married, if only to experience a complete life: "I have done everything I needed to do. I am already a mother, so that has also completed a phase of my life. I have to get my daughter a nice father and for me, a nice husband. Hopefully, I’ll manage both!" 

— NF

Here’s to Nandita!

DIRECTOR Jagmohan Mundra says she reminds him of the late Smita Patil. Many would tend to agree with him, Nandita Das has the same passion, the same intensity, the same affinity for off-beat roles, even the same dusky complexion as Smita. Easily one of the gutsiest actresses in the film industry, Nandita is once again at the centre of a controversy with her latest film ‘Bawandar’ facing problems with the censor board. 

Not that doing controversial roles is a novel experience for this talented actress. Her earlier films ‘Fire’ and ‘Water’ (which eventually got shelved), too, aroused heated public debate. But this has not deterred Nandita who feels that such controversies are the price an artiste pays for standing up for his convictions. Says Nandita, "All these situations are bound to create debate. 

I do not take it as a personal slur on my reputation as an actor or human being if some hate what I do. If you have the courage of conviction, then you will fight it out. At the end of the day, I might be able to convince you or I might not be able to convince you, but the point is, it does not make my conviction any less."

Well said, Nandita. In a world where the term ‘courage of conviction’ has a hollow ring to it and where one would be hard-pressed to find someone willing to stand up for something they believe in, we sure need more like you. — Glitzy

Cuisine from star kitchens
Asha Singh

ON screen, they could partake in papier-mache ‘pakoras’, clay curries or whatever the art director might serve. You might wonder what these stars eat in real life. Well, here’s a sampling of some mouth-watering dishes from Mumbai’s star kitchens.

If you happen to be in Salman Khan’s house, you could expect the best chicken ‘kebabs’, ‘yakhni pillaufs’ and saffron-smeared sweet rice in town — served post-midnight after consuming Alaska-sized pegs of scotch whiskey. But avoid the month of Ramzan when abstinence prevails in the household.

In the dining enclave of Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, ‘shammi kebabs’ and fried fish (‘raawas’) form part of the daily menu. Sea-fresh fish is also a must in Rakhee’s kitchen, only that you should be prepared for a heavily-spiced mustard sauce preparation.

Lightly oiled ginger chicken is recommended by Gulzar, whose meals always begin with chopped onion salad strewn on fiery papads from Rajasthan and end with the wintry dessert of ‘gud-ki-gajak’ and ‘revdis’ from Delhi and Lucknow.

Then there are Spanish pastas, falafols and sesame-seed-toast starters worth living for in Rishi Kapoor’s house. Niece Karisma Kapoor however, sticks to Singapore noodles, green Thai curry, olive butter (low fat) toasts and Khaari biscuits to be dipped in tea.

For sheer class, the silver-platter dinners at Amitabh Bachchan’s are unrivalled. The Big B is pure vegetarian, and is partial towards lentil soup and for dessert, a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream dolloped with chocolate sauce.

Here’s some more: Shahrukh Khan’s boiled chicken in brown gravy, Hritik Roshan’s chicken and spinach rolls, Anil Kapoor’s ‘akoori’ sandwiches, Urmila Matondkar’s crab curry. Sunil Shetty’s lamb chops, Kajol-Ajay Devgan’s ‘massor-daal khichdi’.

HOLLYWOOD SCAN

Count Lee

FOR almost eighty years he has been spooking film-goers around the world. Now Count Dracula is making a comeback, cape, fangs and all. Hollywood is nervously looking ahead to The Shadow of the Vampire starring Eddie Izzard the seventeenth in the line of stars who have portrayed the blood sucker since 1922. Though eminent actors like Nicholas Cage and Antonia Banderas have portrayed Dracula, Christopher Lee is considered to be in a league of his own and defined the way Dracula should be portrayed. Lee retired from the role in 1966 and has since played many memorable roles, including that of Mohammad Ali Jinnah last year. Had the movie not kicked up such a controversy, he could have easily walked away with the Oscar.

Fact or fiction

With interest in her still growing by the day, it is little wonder that the memory of Marilyn, Monroe still continues to haunt millions. Now, yet another book titled ‘Marilyn, Kennedy & Me’ authored by the late Fred Otash which is to be released on August 5 — exactly 39 years after Marilyn died — insinuates that more than two people smothered the glamourous star with a pillow. The author points a finger of suspicion at the Late Robert Kennedy who he says masterminded the plan. But with so many pundits coming up with theories about Marilyn’s mysterious death on August 5, 1962, it is hardly surprising that these books end up in the fiction section of libraries and bookstores!

Jeer fear

One must hand it to Ben ‘Gandhi’ Kingsley for turning a near-disaster to his advantage. Recently while doing a charity show of ‘Hamlet’ in London, the Oscar winner forgot his lines in the middle of a dramatic scene. Instead of panicking he looked up at the audience and confessed, "Look I’ve just gone blank. Do you mind if I go backstage and rehearse for a while". Instead of booing and jeering, the theatre-loving crowd cheered him and gave him a standing ovation when he returned ten minutes later!