Kajol equates the experience of returning to Tamil-Telugu cinema after two decades with VIP2 to a 10th class exam. “On the first day, it felt like an exam. I was nervous and stressed. I hadn’t spoken in Tamil in a really long time,” she laughs. Her characteristic effervescence and laughter fills the room when we snatch a few minutes of conversation with her.
Minsara Kanavu ( Merupu Kalalu in Telugu; Sapnay in Hindi) released in 1997. Sporadically she has had filmmakers from Tamil and Telugu approaching her with scripts. “I wasn’t sure; if it’s a different language I need to be comfortable with the team and they need to understand my limitations. Careful deliberation goes into choosing a film,” she says.
With VIP2 , despite her initial apprehension to court Tamil-Telugu film domain again, what hooked her was the part of Vasundhara. “If Vasundhara had been a man, no one would dare challenge her,” she says. “In many ways I could identify with her. There’s a high degree of self respect and gravitas associated with every strong, successful woman who has made it on her own. Vasundhara has a sharp survival instinct, goes for the jugular and can be ruthless. This side to her is tempered with a sense of judgement. An element of arrogance also seeps in when you’ve done things your way and succeeded. I liked that about her.”
Kajol observes how the boundaries between different film industries have blurred in the last two decades. “We cater to different audiences and sensibilities but globally, cinema has changed and there aren’t that many differences. Things are a lot more organised and streamlined today. We occasionally gave into a ‘ karlo, baad mein dekhlenge ‘ attitude back then, but now you have people with new job titles taking care of even little things that go into a film. More people work with bound scripts; it’s so much better today,” she observes.
She credits director Soundarya Rajinikanth and writer-actor Dhanush for hand-holding her through VIP2 . “They both were really sweet in ensuring that I could seamlessly integrate into the film,” she says, mentioning that though she learnt and spoke the lines, she refrained from dubbing in Tamil and Telugu. “But I am lucky that the person who dubbed for me has done a fabulous job; she even sounds like me.”
Does she remember any of the dialogues now? “No... please, this is pushing it far. I did my homework, appeared for the exam and passed. That’s it.”
Next up is her home production with Ajay Devgn for which she begins shooting in October.
| Hyderabad connect: Kajol has worked in films produced by late D. Ramanaidu for which she shot in Hyderabad and talks of the rapport she shared with the doyen: “He was among the few to attend my wedding and I kept in touch with him over the years.” |
