This story is from February 11, 2011

'Khushbu is a spontaneous actor'

TNN / Feb 11, 2011, 00:00 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

On their visit to TOI office on Thursday, actor Khushbu, director Suresh Krissna and corporate honcho Ashish Kulkarni had a hearty interaction with Team TOI. We tell you more...

It was a perfect case of appearances being deceptive. Here was a trio walking into TOI office sans any starry appurtenances, but the minute they began their interaction with Team TOI, Khushbu, Suresh Krissna and Ashish Kulkarni had everyone floored with their immense body of work.
If the best things often come in small packages, here it was also a case of the best being packaged in the most unobtrusive manner.Excerpts of the interaction:
‘Fest’ive talk
As they settle down for a chat with Team NT, ask Khushbu and Suresh about their Orange City experience and they almost say in unison “Nagpurians are as sweet as oranges!” Adds Suresh, “We also enjoyed the interaction with the audience at the film festival.” With Suresh Krissna's Illangyan, which is written by none other than Karunanidhi, being screened at the Carlsberg 2nd International Film Festival Nagpur, ask the director if it was tough to make changes in a script written by a Chief Minister and he says with a guffaw, “Directors are always at loggerheads with writers!” On a serious note he adds, “Just the image of me entering the CM’s office to ask for changes would be so unsettling. But, I went ahead and told him the changes I wanted and he was open to them. He would always give me suggestions and inputs, but wasn't interfering. In the end, I went about filming in the manner I thought would do justice to his script.”

Spontaneity
While on the topic of a director having his way, ask Khushbu if she's a director's actor or likes to suggest changes in the script and she says, “I am completely a director's actor. I just go to the sets like clay and am ready to be moulded in any character as per my director's thoughts.” Interrupting her, Suresh says, “She's saying all this but ask me! I've worked with her and though I tell her what I want before the shot it often seems that most of the time Khushbu is in her own world. She's either on phone, on a social networking site, blogging, chatting or joking - but the minute I say action, there she is in the skin of the character! She's a very spontaneous actor!”

Glitter and glam
As Suresh praises her style, it's time for Khushbu to return the compliment as she raves about some scenes in his films. “The way he conceived that Valai osai song in Sathya was awesome.” As she speaks, it's tough to not notice those fine solitaires on her person and some tattoos too. Rag Khushbu about these glamorous fetishes of hers and she says with a coy smile: “Yes, I'm really fond of diamonds and antique jewellery; and tattoos fascinate me a lot too. In fact, I have four tattoos on my person, and two of them are dedicated to my kids and husband.”
No regrets!
The gutsy woman, who faced harrowing times for making a forthright comment on pre-marital sex, says: “I've never regretted moving to Chennai from Mumbai because during those tough times I had, some dear friends were hiding me in their home when non-bailable warrants were issued against me on a Friday. They ferried my kids from school using different cars to evade the snooping paparazzi. That day I thanked God that I was in Chennai!”
No friction, only hype
With Suresh Krissna working with so many stars in the big league ask him if there's any rivalry between Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan and he says: “On the contrary, I have seen the two appreciating each other, attending functions together and generally having a good time in each other's company. So, all this talk of rivalry is a hype created by the media!”
Rajni, the person
He's worked with the biggest man in the showbiz world Rajnikant, so ask Suresh for some insights on Rajni - the person and he says, “He's the most down-to-earth person I've seen. He never roams with security, is always there on the sets on time and is so bothered about how any film is shaping up. For eg., when I was assisting K Balachander on Ek Duje Ke Liye, he would always ask about its progress. He explained this interest saying, 'Kamal is such a wonderful actor, his talent should be recognised the world over!'”
Changing times
With the film industry in general undergoing lots of changes, ask Suresh and Khusbhu if the first three days of BO business is enough to declare a film a hit or flop and he says, “It’s rather unfortunate, but true!” He laughs and adds, “By those standards, my Illangyan which is running for the past 25 days is a silver jubilee!” Speaking of other changes in the industry, Khushbu says, “Even this vanity van culture is spoiling the family bond that once existed on the sets. Earlier, we'd eat together, watch others' shots and also learn in the process. Today I don't see that happening.”
Professional touch
The South Indian film industry is known for its professional attitude. Is that the reason corporate honcho Ashish Kulkarni of the Krishna animation series fame, is working more in the South? He says with candour, “Whether it's TV or film, the kind of professionalism that every project is treated with here is amazing. Also this gives them an edge when it comes to film making. If you see whether it's the technology in filmmaking, editing, sound recording etc it's somehow introduced here first.”
Follow us on Twitter for more stories

End of Article