Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
'70s gal swinging in her 60s
|
Sharmila Tagore has always had a fiercely independent identity, be it as an actress, a homemaker or a Censor Board chief
|
Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE Sharmila Tagore has no qualms about speaking her mind
Every Indian who's sighed over Sharmila Tagore's dimples and been reduced to putty by that innocent smile of her Kashmir ki Kali days, and then cried with her and for her in films such as Amar Prem and Mausam, will agree that the actress knows how to age gracefully. One can't simply believe that Sharmila just celebrated her 62nd birthday.
A grandmother, an active actress who recently tugged at the heartstrings in Virudhdh, mother of two young film stars, chairperson of the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Begum of Pataudi... the roles she plays in real life are as myriad as those she played on the big screen. But whatever has been or is, Sharmila has always had a fiercely independent identity. "Even in the 60s, you are quite capable of doing something foolish or uninformed. Just because you are at a ripe old age doesn't mean you are the end word in wisdom," she says
So does life begin at 40 like they all say? She says, "I've enjoyed every facet of life. When I was 20, I did all that a 20-year-old would have wanted to do. I made mistakes. And have evolved. The 30s was a wonderful time as the children came along. The 40s was time to come to terms with a joint family and the children's education. The 50s was a liberating time as one had done everything for family and children, and one suddenly realised `I'm free and I can do what I want'."
Coming back into the loop was a refreshing change. "When I came back to films, there was no competition. It was just a sense of enjoyment and being part of the film fraternity."
As for being the CBFC chairperson, it's no mean task. "Nobody wants to take a decision. Everybody is afraid, even phobic. Ideally, censorship must go. But I firmly believe the time hasn't come yet for India. We are talking about creative freedom; but nothing is free. Responsibility and freedom must go hand-in-hand. Film-makers are just thinking of individual profit," she says.
Though she hasn't seen son Saif Ali Khan's latest flick Being Cyrus, she says she's very impressed with his acting — as a co-actor and not a mother. "With films such as Hum Tum and Parineeta, he has been proving his mettle and he's become an underplayed sensitive actor."
With daughter Soha Ali Khan going big time with Rang De Basanti the question is inevitable. Was she apprehensive about her kids getting into cinema? "Not so much with Saif but this is where the double standards come in," she says frankly. "When Soha joined, I most certainly was apprehensive. But Soha's enjoying it. When you give your children a certain education, and when they choose something, you can't crib about it," says the democratic mom. . When Sharmila became the first Hindi actress to appear in a two-piece bikini in An Evening in Paris, she earned the sex-symbol tag. But she also drew a lot of flak from a conservative society. She chose to move away from the glamorous image. "You need a short term vision as a way to a long-term vision. The glamorous image will work for the moment. But you won't remain young all your life. And if you want longevity in your profession, you have to be able to do all kinds of roles. Instead of exhibiting yourself, you have to express yourself," is how she puts it.
An actress discovered by no less than Satyajit Ray, Sharmila moved on pretty fast to Bollywood. Any regrets? "With Ray, it was more Ray's contribution and less mine. If I hadn't broken away from Ray, all my life I would have been in his shadow. Now, whatever I've achieved I've achieved on my own," says the doe-eyed Bengali and descendant of Rabindranath Tagore.
"I think I came into my own because I had to fend for myself here. Every person wants to feel that his achievement is his own."
BHUMIKA. K
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
