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'I will never run down my films with Govinda'
Raveena Tandon wants to be excited and challenged
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She is sick of playing bimbo roles, that require nubile, and sometimes not so nubile, heroines to run around trees. The one film she enjoyed working on, she admits, was Kalpana Lajmi's Daman, for which she won a National Award.
Raveena Tandon is now looking forward to Madhur Bhandarkar's Satta. She first made her onscreen appearance in Phool Aur Patthar as Salman Khan's heroine. For years thereafter, she played glamorous baby doll, singing, pouting and romancing the hero.
Mohra's popular Mast mast was a high point, a film that ensured 'item' numbers for Raveena in countless other movies. The transformation from an item actress to a serious, sensitive one happened with Shool, where her deglamorised role as a police inspector's wife won critical acclaim.
Since then, she has gathered awards, controversies and adulation for the characters she has essayed. Her latest role, a neglected woman who has an extramarital affair in Agni Varsha, is drawing positive response.
Her next few films, she states, are also challenging: vulnerable victim in the dark thriller Sandhya; greedy politician in Madhur Bhandarkar's Satta and city girl in Kundan Shah's Ek Se Badhkar Ek.
Raveena admits to Deepali Nandwani how she strikes a balance between sensible cinema and masala movies:
What attracted you to your role in Agni Varsha?
Agni Varsha explores intricate relationships. Vishaka is a very strong woman, caught between a husband who neglects her and a former lover who lavishes attention on her. The film is set in the times of the Mahabharata, but it is not [strictly] a period film.
I was excited about doing a film set in a certain period, wearing costumes, talking in a particular manner, behaving differently... Even the body language in this film is different.
Were you apprehensive about working with a first-time director?
Frankly, no. Arjun [Sajnani, director] is a theatre veteran, and is forever brimming with new ideas. His narrative style is gripping and he is keen to experiment. Now that the tried-and-tested formulae [in the Hindi film industry] are bombing, it is time filmmakers did something new.
The new crop of directors --- E Niwas, Madhur Bhandarkar and Arjun --- are so focused that you enjoy working with them.
You are increasingly taking on roles that move away from a glamorous image. What attracts you to these roles?
After so many years in the film industry, you get tired of the same roles which require you to do the same old stuff. I want roles with some meat and substance, roles that give me satisfaction. For a change, I am in the news for my work, good work and nothing else.
Tabu set the trend for offbeat roles. I won't say I am taking up from where she left off. But it is different working in offbeat films, especially when you know you have a lot to offer. There is only so much one can do with a commercial role.
Does this mean that you are slowly cutting down on commercial cinema?
Look, I am very happy with my career now. But there is no 'shift' towards parallel cinema, as some people have been insinuating. It is just that when I returned to films after a hiatus, I decided I would do quality work. I was prepared to experiment, and I was open to new ideas.
It started with Mukul Anand's Dus, where I chose the terrorist's role (as opposed to the regular singing-dancing role that the other actress took).
That was the turning point in my career. Then I signed Dulhe Raja, an out-and-out commercial film that became a huge hit. Then came Anari No1, followed by Shool, Daman and Aks.
So it is more a question of doing meaningful cinema than 'parallel' cinema. Kalpana Lajmi's Daman was a natural choice for me. So is Madhur Bhandharkar's Satta.
If offbeat films attract you, why are you not sticking to them? Is it not strange to have one foot in each camp? What about your item songs?
In the first place, I don't believe in the commercial and parallel cinema distinction. A film is a film and a role is a role. I enjoy my jhatka-matkas as much as I enjoy intense performances. Who said an actress has to speak softly and look awful to be considered good? Isn't Madhuri Dixit a brilliant actress?
In Hollywood, there is no distinction, why should we have it? As for the songs, I enjoy them. I may not have worked in classics in my career, but I have a lot of superhit songs that everyone will remember me for.
I will never run down my films with Govinda because they were responsible for making me a huge star. I am also very partial to my songs, including Tu cheez badi hai mast mast (Mohra), and Rabba rabba (Aks).
If Raveena Tandon is a big star today, it is because of these item numbers.
I want to surprise myself constantly. Whether it is experimenting with roles or hairstyles or makeup, I want to give my best. If I am monotonous, the audience will hate it. That is why I am trying to seek a balance.
Today, if there is Harmesh Malhotra's Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare or Smita Thackeray's Hum Ek Hamaara Ek, there's also Kundan Shah's Kasam Se, Khalid Mohamed's Tareekh and Madhur's Satta.
Your earlier laidback attitude and your lackadaisical approach to your career meant that you got left behind in the rat race. Do you now desire for the No 1 spot?
Hey, I don't tom-tom about myself or my work. I let my work speak for me. If I didn't have a burning ambition, I would have vanished from the scene a long time ago. I don't believe in bragging and then falling on my face.
When I had Dilwale, Mohra, Laadla, Andaz Apna Apna, which other heroine was as successful as me?
Films began as a hobby --- that soon changed. Today, I am careful about how I look, and select my roles with care. Yes I don't have the killer instinct to get to the top --- I can't be manipulative or harm somebody else for personal gain.
Most of us [actresses] start off playing rich, spoilt brats. Then you reach a point when you think about how many times you might end up repeating yourself. I want to do things that excite me.
Don't you fear that the competition is leaving you behind in the race?
No. I believe you must enjoy the life that God has given you. Cherish it, because it is all you have. You could be here right now and in two seconds, you could be gone. I could walk out from this building, there could be a bomb blast or an earthquake and everything would be reduced to rubble.
Why worry about competition, gain or war? It will all be lost in a flash.
What were the moments that affected you most, changed your perspective of life?
Actress Divya Bharati's death, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and the Mumbai bomb blasts. When I see people scratching and clawing towards ambition and greed, I wonder why they are doing it and for what.
Divya Bharati seemed to have everything going for her; I idolised Rajiv Gandhi, but they were both gone in a matter of seconds.
You are involved in a lot of charity work. How did that happen?
I have always worked at Prem Sadan [an orphanage at Madh Island, Mumbai], since I was a kid. I also work with Child Relief and You.
There is a world and life beyond films. My charity work keeps me in touch with that world.
India News Feature Service
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