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Revathi... Our Friend
Revathi..."Mitr" to "Dhoop".
UNLESS POINTED out, actress Revathi would go unnoticed. Reason? Her demeanour boasts of none of the glamour of the stereotyped film heroine. She comes clad in a simple, traditional South Indian sari, hair tightly pulled back into a plain clip, the uneven level explains that she does not even try to look `trendy'. And yes, no fake accent either, to answer the queries that can afford a bit of affectation - National Award for her directorial venture "Mitr - My Friend", her debut in Bollywood as the lead opposite Salman Khan - the then big star - in "Love", besides a volley of good roles she donned in Tamil and Malayalam films.
She listens patiently and throws no tantrums at even `insensitive' questions. Well, Revathi can make one believe that politeness is her greatest virtue. Ask her how she remains so untouched by the glamour world of Bollywood despite being a part of it, she droops her eyes and coyly utters, "I have been brought up that way. My parents have always emphasised family values that should never leave you, wherever you are, whichever heights you may achieve."
This trained Bharatnatyam dancer is acting opposite Om Puri as the mother of a Kargil martyr played by Sanjay Suri in the soon-to-be-released "Dhoop". In the film, the old couple fights various bureaucratic problems in setting up a petrol pump that the Government permits them after the death of their son.
The role of a mother at a young age? Isn't she scared of the getting into a rut?
"A mother is a character, that is so in most films abroad. It is only in India that she is labelled a `mother' and not an actor playing a mother. It is a strange attitude."
And she laps up such roles happily because she "never wants to repeat" herself.
She says when she completed her High School in 1983 from Chennai, she "never thought of acting as a career." It was "just an accident" when Bharat Raja, looking for a new face for his Tamil film, saw her dance performance, and approached her.
And her family?
"Parents did not object. Since my father was in the Army, he had quite a liberal attitude."
Because of being "lazy" she hasn't performed on stage for the last three years, but she is active in the production house that her husband Rajesh started around 1985, called Telephoto Entertainment. "We are into making television serials," she informs, adding that she feels "more at home behind the camera."
One thing that takes some of the glow out of her face is the mention of her favourite directors.
"What to talk about them, they are all dead: Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy." She clarifies however, "I never idealised anyone. But I loved the way they portrayed a character."
Next is a "significant" role she is playing in a Shilpa-Abhishek starrer, a yet untitled film, the theme of which revolves around a man-woman relationship as it grows in an urban set up.
RANA SIDDIQUI
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