EXCLUSIVE: The Directors Of Yore Had A Lot More Depth Than Directors Of Today; Says Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla is one heck of a beauty. She was pretty and beautiful when she used to play the leading lady on screen and she is beautiful even today when she has grown to play character roles. In an exclusive conversation with Desimartini’s Sandip Pal, Juhi who is starring opposite Anil Kapoor in her upcoming flick Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, reveals a lot about her old days, the experiences she had with the profilic directors she worked with, her memories with Anil Kapoor. She has also shed a lot of light on the differences she finds in today’s generation of actors and directors as opposed to the actors and directors of her times.

Excerpts from the cconversation: 

Earlier with Onir you had done another film that heralded same sex love – It was My Brother Nikhil, what was the main difference in this film?

This is a very mainstream film, it is a family film and it is very comfortable viewing. It is a very beautiful story and it is one of the most structured scripts that I have ever done. Any script that I decide to do should be a little gem and this one was!

It has been a long time since you shared the screen with Anil Kapoor, how was it working with him again? Did it revive any memories?

Besides memories, it is a lot more about the ease. One feels easy working with people you know and you are familiar with. It was lovely to work with Sonam and Rajkumarr. For me it was like, this is the actor I have been watching and today I am on the sets with him. So it was a very happy experience. With Anil, I have known him for such a long time and he is a fantastic actor and also an amazing friend. I was comfortable working with him, we used to have fun during breaks, pull pranks on each other and it was lovely!

You have worked with the best in the industry, what do you think has changed in the work culture now?

A few very pertinent changes I would be pointing out, one is technology, and the other conveniences, (the ac studios, the fancy vanity vans so on and so forth) but the hard work that you used to put in then is the same, The fundamentals are still the same. The script is still the king. You have to dedicate yourself otherwise it shows. When an actor is applying himself or herself, the sincerity shows. And finally, people love and appreciate a good film. Sometimes, a film is not successful for many reasons but when you work with all your heart in a film you can always say it is my film. Those things haven’t changed. Even today I feel, when you got a good script, a good and committed actor, a director who is passionate - you are bound to love it.

What about the directors? You have worked with Aziz Mirza, Yash Chopra and many other prolific directors, what do you think is the difference in the directorial style and the mis-en-scene that used to be with the directors of yore when compared to the directors now?

Maybe I didn’t notice it at time when I was working with Mahesh Bhatt, Yash Chopra, Abbas Mustan – they are all matured people! You need time to mature. You have to be a very good observer. Sometimes you are younger and you jump into direction, but you haven’t lived enough to be able to hold a story. So after your one or two films you don’t have experience of life to be able to be a good director. You have to wait, you have to grow, you have to experience and then tell a story in a nice way! Sometimes directors become directors to quickly and then they need to pause. And sometimes people have lived so much that they can adeptly tell you stories one after the other because they have actually experienced life. At time those directors had a lot more depth.

Much has been told about your comic timing and your comic talent, was that put to use in this film?

When Vinodji (Vidhu Vinod Chopra) called me and said this role is for you, when we are writing it we just know that you have to play it. So you are absolutely right, Sandip. It is a sweet, cute Punjabi character and I did it with much pleasure.