Aishwarya Rai, who is back with her latest release, tells Jyothi Venkatesh
that an actor is a puppet in the director’s hands

Aishwarya Rai is, perhaps, the only married actress who has been able to break the myth that married actresses cannot survive in Bollywood or have to make do with roles that require them to play the young mother, like say Kajol in films like Fanaa, U Me Aur Hum, My Name is Khan and We Are Family.

According to Aishwarya, who is back with her latest release Robot in Hindi and Enthiran in Tamil, humbly states that it would not be right for her to gloat in the obsession, because she feels there have been several actresses before her, who have continued to act in films even after marriage.

"I, for one, had never wondered whether I’d be able to continue to act in films after marriage. I am an actor. Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast me in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which fetched me the Best Actor award. I did not sport a pigtail in that film. I am not belittling anyone’s choice as an actor but the fact is that I have never believed in shirking away from playing even roles which I feel do not suit me," Ash quips modestly.

Enthiran, the Tamil original version of Robot, is Ash’s fifth film in Tamil. Says Ash, "I have worked in five films in Tamil — Iruvar, Kandukonden

Kandukonden, Jeans, Raavanan and now Enthiran. In fact, I cannot forget the fact that, even before I got a break in Hindi films with Rahul Rawail’s Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, it was with the Tamil film Iruvar that I had made my debut as an actress way back in 1997, with Mohanlal as my leading man. I genuinely respect directors from down South. If I agree to act in a Tamil film once in a while, I do not look at it as an alternative job. I love working in Tamil films. Even though Tulu, and not Tamil, is my mother tongue, yet I am treated with much love and respect whenever I set out to work in Tamil films".

Talking about her latest release Robot, Ash says, "Robot is a film about human relationships. Though it is out and out an entertainer, the film also sets out to drive home a subtle message. I play a student in the field of medicine, who falls in love with Rajnikant, who plays Dr Vaseegaran. However I should say with honestly that it was not the kind of character, which was difficult enough for me to get into its skin. After acting in a film like Robot, I realised that whether you are the director or the actor, you require immense amount of patience to be a part of a film like this".

Ash is glad that in a film like Robot, where Rajnikant has a double role, she got to do everything that a heroine ought to do in a commercial film, which she has not done for quite a while, because she was far too busy doing character-driven films.

"I have not come here to belong to any particular camp or to make a pair with any actor. I have always been an open-minded actor right from the beginning. It has always been my motto to work as a professional with conviction, whatever the film may be or whoever the maker is".

"On the sets, I do not think about the language in which I am working and consider myself a student who has got to deliver. It has always been my belief that an actor is a puppet in the hands of the director when he or she sets out to work in a film" she adds.

This year seems to be the year of Ash since she has four releases starting with Raavan! Ash exults. "I consider myself really blessed as an actor that I have been able to work in four different films this year. I am glad that the films in which I am acting are diverse. Like Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan, besides Shankar’s Robot, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish and last but not the least Vipul Shah’s Action Replayy. Sana in Enthiran is different from Mala in Action replay and the character that I am essaying in Guzaarish is quite different from the characters that I play in Robot or Guzaarish or for that matter, the one I played in Raavan. I should say that it is a blessing that I have got many opportunities to play different characters in my career. I am proud of the fact that my career has not been chartered just by numbers. I am still here doing exciting work. I am lucky that my journey still continues".

It is for the first time that you have acted with Rajnikant.

"Rajnikant sir is an absolute rock star. What I like about him is the fact that he is humility personified though he is such a big mega star. I should confess that I could learn a lot from him after working with him on the sets of Enthiran. He is an example of professionalism. It was wonderful working with him on the sets, where he behaves as if he is just a colleague, not a senior. Enthiran was not an easy film to make".

Ash is bold enough to state that when she sets out to work in any film, it isn’t just that she is myopic about her part. "It is about totality when I work. My part is also important because you should be excited about what you are doing as an actress when you decide to be part of a project".

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