"My earlier films look trivial..."

A lazy Sunday evening seems even more relaxed as one steps into the sleepy confines of the room.
That had been home to Sharmila Tagore in between her takes during the shooting of Anirudhha Roychowdhury���s Antaheen in an old South Kolkata house. Minimalistic furniture that includes a bed, a mirror, a few chairs and a cabinet. In the far corner of the room, she sits, looking as elegant as ever, with no signs of fatigue whatsoever.Ageing gracefully is an art that not too many female stars in the industry have mastered. But Sharmila Tagore is different and that���s why it���s so easy to believe her when she says she feels she is in her 40s now!
Ask her whether it was difficult to shoot considering that she had been running a temperature, and she says, ���Ailments don���t matter once the camera starts rolling. Ektu cramp hoyechhilo paye... But work doesn���t suffer. For Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, I remember shooting in the middle of the lake with 104 �� C. For Paap Aur Punya, I had to dance in that sweltering Jaipur heat wearing traditional bangles. Amitabh had told me about a scene where he had banged the door on Rekha���s fingers. But she didn���t utter a sound till the shot was canned!��� That���s the kind of commitment that actors like Sharmila have always had, despite the fact that she claims to have never been ���career-oriented���. ���Shabana wanted to be in films and hence, she joined the film institute.
Manikda picked me up and I knew I had to be on time on the sets and learn my lines. I was never dependent on my actor image for my identity. At times, that image hindered me when I couldn���t enjoy my anonymity,��� she explains, pausing briefly to talk to actor Rahul Bose, who plays her nephew in the film. ���I saw your pictures. They look nice,��� she says with a smile.
Soon after Rahul leaves, she is back to talking about the dreamer in her. ���When I was flying from Delhi to Kolkata, I saw five rainbows. Wish I could show them to painter Paresh Maity! I���ve never seen so many yellow cabs in my life that I saw this time. And then, there are those women on the streets ��� oder sarir par gulo ki shundor... While travelling from Bhopal to Khajuraho, I remember a friend getting busy with a book instead of watching the countryside. And his reason was: ���A goat is a goat is a goat���!
People hardly have time to stand and stare.���
Added to that, is the obsession with gadgets. ���Whenever I���m travelling, my daughter, Saba, plugs on to her music while I wish she would chat with me. This urban disconnection is also the theme of Antaheen,��� she insists.
So, in an age of increasing disconnect, where do relationships stand? ���Relationships are fraught with problems. When problems arise, both sides can argue to win their case. We can all win an argument but in the process, lose a relationship. I believe loving someone makes one happier than being loved,��� she says, while asking for a bowl of puffed rice and peanuts.
Munching on, she continues, ���I like watching people. I���m not a mimic though Saif is one. I like solitude and have always done what���s important to me. That���s why I juggled between shooting a film like Kashmir Ki Kali and Nayak. I���ve never competed with anyone. When I went to work in Mumbai, I was only 17. It was more about enjoying the freedom of living alone in a hotel!���
How does it feel to watch her earlier films? ���They look trivial, silly and flawed. But there is so much of innocence and earnestness in them too. Amar Prem is full of flaws but it still holds attention.��� And what about those that she works in today? ���I don���t judge or make cerebral dissections of roles. Today, the market is dictated by economics and directors have to make a choice about whether they are making a film to please the Indian or the international market. Since commercial cinema is a huge economic engine, we can���t rubbish it either. In our male-dominated film industry, women of our age are still offered roles that are kind, soft and tolerant. As for me, I���d want to do positive roles. I wouldn���t play a debauched character even if it offers me great acting scope.���
How about taking to direction herself? ���I���d want to make a film that is full of nuances of the 60s. I really like the energy and Vishal���s thinking in Omkara.��� Omkara, by the way, also had Saif and Kareena. So, has she watched them together in Tashan? ���No. But I���ve watched Kareena in Jab We Met and I really liked it.���
It���s time to call it a day. The bowlful of puffed rice looks somewhat empty as she winds up her Kolkata schedule. Pending Censor Board meetings later, she���d be juggling her way between yellow cabs to the airport. Wonder whether, this time too she lazily stared at the boundless sky to catch a rainbow on the horizon!
priyanka.dasgupta@timesgroup.com