For Raveena Tandon , motherhood is a full-time job. When I meet Tandon at her office to talk about her forthcoming release Maatr , she’s accompanied by her pet Labrador – senior citizen Dumbbell. Her happy mood somehow brings us to the topic of books and reading. Tandon reads anything under the sun, from history, anthropology, spirituality to English literature and is always looking for recommendations. The reccos aren’t just for her though, but for her children, Rasha, aged 12 and Ranbir nine.
Acting once more
In Maatr , Tandon plays a mother who along with her 12-year-old daughter is a rape survivor, who when denied justice, seeks revenge. When she was approached with the subject, it took very little to convince Tandon, as the film captured her deepest worries as a parent. “It talks about the frustrations about the common man, and the failure of the judicial system. We all live in this bubble that it will never happen to us. The thing is now these crimes are being committed openly, brazenly. There is no fear of the law, there is no fear of anything. Something seriously needs to be done. The scariest part is how people are slowly getting indifferent,” she says with visible anger.
Maatr was shot in 39 days, and completed in April last year. Even as the post-production was on in Mumbai, three months later, newspapers flashed the news of a gangrape of a mother-daughter before their family. “What we worked around in the film happened in reality. It was like shooting 9/11 before 9/11 happened. It was so eerie,” she says.
A passionate supporter of women’s causes, when Tandon met Jyoti Singh’s mother at a public event, her cry for justice pointing at the indifference of politicians made a deep impact on her. “[It’s] because we tolerate. We tolerate stupid comments that come out of political leaders and lawmakers whom we vote into power,” she states passionately.
Because Tandon’s character is a school teacher in the film, her revenge is all about mind-games. She says, “It’s not as if she has gone trigger happy. It’s not Kill Bill . Taking the law in your hands is something I don't condone at all. But this is a work of fiction. This is just a story. Tomorrow it can become someone’s reality.”
Maatr will release this Friday and will lock horns with Noor , another female-centric film toplined by Sonakshi Sinha. Interestingly, Noor is being distributed by her husband Anil Thadani who has been barred from watching Maatr . “He wanted to watch, but I didn’t want him to. He will get very disturbed,” she says.
Enjoying motherhood
Tandon, long regarded as the sex symbol from the 90s with her memorable chartbusting numbers and a loyal fan following is slowly emerging from a sabbatical. Tandon prioritised time for her family while firmly putting her film career on the backburner. “I wanted to enjoy my pregnancy. I wanted to put my [feet] up. I ate ice cream, gulab jamun and whatever came in front of me. I didn't want to wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning and start doing make-up,” she admits.
Tandon’s legendary song, ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ from the 1994 film, Mohra is still hotly discussed on social media forums even today. How does she look at her past as a sex symbol? “I never saw it that way. I have always believed in sensuality and not sexuality. This is the line I have been saying from the 90s. I believe you can look hot even you’re fully covered,” is her quick response.
For Tandon, cinema is not the only defining factor in her life. She says, “I don't eat and breathe movies. Movies are a part of my life.” For the actor, the children took precedence over the movies. “My children’s childhood will never come back again. I would have missed the first word they said, the way they walked, the report card that came, the exam tension, I want to enjoy everything. I don't care [if] my face [is] everywhere. I’ve been there, done that yaar,” she asserts.
The actor will soon be seen next in Onir’s Shab in which she plays a high society socialite happy with her toy boys. The film was originally supposed to be shot in 2002 with Sanjay Suri, but then Tandon bowed out owing to her pregnancy. After more than a decade, Onir approached her again, but this time she is not playing the main lead, “I am not playing the protagonist now because the age ratio has shifted. I am playing a woman in her late 30s who falls in love with this guy who doesn't love her back.” The actor has also lent her voice as Hanuman’s mother in the upcoming animated film Hanuman Da Damdaar which will be released later this summer.
Switching tracks
Tandon has also ventured into film production, with disastrous results. While relating her experiences as producer for two films, Stumped (2003) and Pehchaan (2005) she recounts how she lost all money owing to a friend’s betrayal. “They gave me some cock and bull story, and made me sign the papers. I realised they had done a lot of shifting of partnerships and I had nothing in the end. I even lost the rights to the films I produced. She was a friend of mine for 17 years, so I trusted her blindly. I didn't even get paid for the movies I worked in,” she recalls with regret.
Her kids are still not aware of their mother’s filmography in full detail. “No, they have only seen Andaz Apna Apna . My son is only interested in football. If I tell him come watch mama’s film, he’d look at me like I have lost the plot. My daughter would perhaps like to watch. Right age, right time,” she quips at the query.
Tandon, though is at ease with her familial surroundings. “It’s been my upbringing I think. I don't live in a delusional world that I want to be number one forever. There is a time for everybody and there is a time for everything. There is always someone to replace you. Tomorrow I probably would do Ranbir Kapoor’s dadi’s role,” she says.
