She has been away from the limelight for a while now. Yet when Lara Dutta turned up in the Capital for “Colgate Bring Smiles, Bright Futures” campaign, she was the cynosure of all eyes. For the past few years Lara has not been shooting for films, busy as she has been with domestic responsibilities. Now she is back producing and acting in a sequel to “Chalo Dilli”.
The actor spoke to Friday Review about modelling, acting and biopics, etc.
Please shed light on the sequel to “Chalo Dilli”?
“Chalo China” is going to be a humorous film. Certainly not in the mould of Akshay Kumar starrer “Chandni Chowk to China” which focused on martial arts.
I will leave direction to someone else and will only be acting in this venture, which is in post production stage.
As someone staunchly advocating equality, what is your view on female actors’ complaint that their remuneration is far less than their male counterparts?
Equal remuneration is the need of the hour. Cinema is a depiction of society and India is predominantly a male-dominated society. Film industry is no different. The fact is that Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are bigger draws than Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai and Katrina Kaif. However, this does not mean that talent of female actors is less than male actors. There should be parity.
Emerging a winner at Miss Universe in 2000 helped you to get a foothold into Bollywood?
After emerging victorious, I experienced such a comfortable and classy lifestyle for a year. Therefore, it became necessary for me to get into a profession which had class as well as glamour. Luckily for becoming a part of Bollywood, I did not have to brush up my Hindi. Though I lived down South, I am a Punjabi, who speaks fluent Hindi. Today fashion is a stepping stone for getting into the movie business.
Often critics forget that intelligent models are preferred over dumb ones in beauty pageants?
This is precisely the case. In the Miss Universe contest I was able to impress judges with my general knowledge. As a run-up to the big event, I went through an intense programme which polished my skills as a model. Moreover, I was a voracious reader with a special interest in current affairs.
You debuted with Priyanka Chopra in “Andaaz” who gave a scintillating performance in “Mary Kom” recently. Are you keen to produce a biopic on Mahesh Bhupati?
In “Mary Kom” Priyanka succeeded in proving that she is a fantastic actress. Biopics are great stories but as far as female characters are concerned there are few and far between. I do not plan to make a film on Mahesh. After marriage and birth of (daughter) Saira, I am taking up only a few projects.
