Sunday, August 20, 2000		Article

FEW people know that Pallavi Joshi, a veteran of the small screen, is a gifted singer and would now like to pursue her career in music. "My grandmother, Vimal Ghaisas, was a talented and well known classical singer who used to sing in many concerts. All of us inherited her love of music and her knowledge. But as soon as I was a small girl, I had the ideal of my brother Alankar in front of me and like him, I wanted to act. My brother Alankar was always the young, adolescent Amitabh Bachchan and became known for being the smaller version of the ‘angry young man". Alankar grew up, found no place in the Hindi film industry as a major actor and migrated to the West, where he now lives."

On the other hand, Pallavi Joshi acted not only as a child star but became a major television star after satellite TV became a household word in India. "I had stage experience too," says Pallavi, "I acted in Mukhwate, a Marathi version of the famous Hindi play by Mohan Rakesh, Adhe Adhure, directed by Pandit Satyadev Dubey. I also acted in Nabendu Ghosh’s Trishna as a teenager. But my real break came when I acted in Manju Singh’s TV serial Ek Kahani. Here, I could play different characters in every episode and develop my own acting skills till I was totally professional. I further acted in Krodh, Mujrim, Sushman and in Masoom for Star Plus. I anchored Antakshari and other musical shows. Todate, I have acted in more than 75 serials and some films.

"Today, my life has changed yet another time. While I was shooting for a TV serial, I met Vivek Agnihotri through a common friend. He was Delhi-based and made ad films. Though we met often, I never thought of love or marriage because I had many preconceived wrong notions about people in the ad industry. But by and by, I came to know him well and we decided to get married. We were married in 1997 and Vivek moved to Mumbai. He had to start his career in this big city without any help. More important, he had to accept that I was already known in the industry here.

"Vivek and I have an eight-month-old daughter now. We work together, though I don’t meddle in his ad films. I find production control a challenging field. I help to find locations, control budgets and help in casting and styling. We made the Whisper campaign for Johnson & Johnson and Sikander, which was a huge success. I wrote and produced Arohan and I am now working

for a musical show for TARA, Star TV’s new Marathi channel (Television Aimed at Regional Audiences) which will be telecast soon.

"Through the years, I have learnt to work with more professional elan and to demand good and fair remuneration for my skills and experience. I am now acting, doing production work, writing and anchoring shows. I am also enjoying homemaking and motherhood." Pallavi has just moved to a new home in suburban Mumbai and is proud of the way she has decorated it.

Here are her opinions on men.

Do you think men are jealous of successful women?

I really can’t say. When I was married, I was and am still better known in the film and TV industry than my husband. He is a master ad film maker and is now going into TV or feature film production. He has never been jealous or angry about my success. But who knows about the future?

Not at all. I personally love men and find them friendly and supportive. I love the fact that men have huge egos because of which they work hard to provide for their families.

No, I don’t rate them very high on the looks and sensuality graph. European men are more romantic. But Indian men are protective, possessive and ever willing to look after their families. My husband is not at all critical of successful women.. I think today’s men are different. They are surrounded by women who are achievers. Women today are actresses, doctors, computer engineers, bankers and even pilots. What can men do? They can’t bury their heads in the sand and carry on believing that women are foolish dependants any more. Of course, women are sensitive and soft and loving but they can also be strong and self- reliant. I think men today have realised the duality of the new woman and feel that they have to work in tandem with women if life is to be peaceful.

Any day. I think women network better but men make kind and supportive friends. They are not combative and vicious. They only harm you when you do something that challenges their ego. As long as you take care of the ego, all is well with the world. With their blown up egos, they are very often like little children who need to be pampered. Women should master this secret in their relationships with men. Many modern women may disagree with me but I love the male ego and find it quite funny!