No age-appropriate roles in Bollywood, says Juhi Chawla
She ruled the screens with her bubbly charm and dimples but Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla laments the lack of good roles, now that she is in her 40's.
The former Miss India, whose film 'I Am' premiered at the Bollywood and Beyond Festival here, says that she wants to play characters her age on screen, but interesting roles are few and far between.
"I have grown out of campus romances. So now I want roles that are interesting and age-appropriate. Of late all I could do was 'I Am' or 'Luck By Chance' or 'Bhootnath'.
There are not so many to choose from but you go with what you connect with," the actress, who was Bollywood's reigning star in the 90's, told PTI in an interview. The 43-year-old said that she is sympathetic towards the younger actresses, who have to work hard to maintain their svelte bikini bodies.
"I hope they are not killing each other to fit into those little clothes which you have to wear these days in the films," said the actress. Reminiscing about her own heydays, Juhi said that she often made "dumb" decisions to satisfy her ego.
"In the past there were times when I made dumb decisions because I was flying very high and you lose your balance. I wish I had not done that," said Juhi. The actress said that she regrets turning down blockbusters like 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai' and 'Raja Hindustani'.
"Yash Chopra asked me to do 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai' with Madhuri Dixit. I refused it and said I don't want to be with Madhuri and get the second billing. That was my ego speaking. I should have said yes," she said.
"Another film was 'Raja Hindustani'. I thought it was not my kind of stuff, it was too loud. But it turned out to be a blockbuster. So I made dumb decisions at times," she added.
The actress has learnt her lesson now and says that she tries to look at a script and story with the audience in mind. "I listen to a script as an audience and if I like it and I know I can crack it I go ahead and do it," she added.
The actress said that she is extremely happy for Aamir Khan, with whom she has delivered many hits like 'Kayamat Se Kayamat Tak', 'Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke' and 'Ishq'.
"I'm very happy for Aamir. He was always extremely bright. He stuck out and said I don't want to do films which don't make sense to me. It has paid off," said Juhi.
