In her element

Bollywood buzz

Everyone remembers her as the husky-voiced heroine (with the adorable pout) in blockbusters like Jewel Thief, Haathi Mere Saathi, Anubhav... Then she floored us with her stellar acting as the tonsured widow in the Marathi movie, Pitruroon; Bengali films including Prothom Kadam Phool, Rajkumari...and as the adorable, faint-prone grandmother in Son of Sardar... (SoS) Tanuja is a sheer, outspoken delight.

Full of beans, even at 73, gifted with a devil-may-care attitude, and spinning out gems laced with her signature sarcasm and mad sense of humour. She is absolutely lovable. I locked her in conversation, as she winged into Mumbai from Lonavla, to dub for her upcoming film. Here are some excerpts from the interview....

Being picky

So A Death in the Gunj is readying for release. What made Tanuja take up her next film project after a couple of years (since SoS released). “I signed on the movie for two reasons: one, it is in English, and two, it is the directorial debut of Konkona Sen Sharma. Her mother Aparna Sen is a dear friend of mine. But you know what I find boring, the promotional tour that comes with a film. My work in the movie amounted to about 15 days, we shot extensively in Ranchi. Also, the film is targeted at the international film circuit. So I don’t know whether it will have a commercial release in theatres here at all.

I like working on my own terms and conditions. I find the hoopla too much in taking on projects these days. The contracts run into 25 pages. It is too tedious going through all the fine print. The process is too long, with too many driving commercials. But I guess production houses need to safeguard their interests and want to avoid legal hassles. I guess I am just old fashioned. Of course, the earlier system of working wasn’t like this,” she says, as we chat over a cup of hot coffee on the third floor of her leafy bungalow in suburban Mumbai.

Tanuja has, of course, always been known to speak her mind. In her signature honest style she confesses, “I take ownership of all the tantrums I have ever thrown. I used to be a difficult person, I admit. In fact, there are people who still call me an arrogant b@#!%. Of course, once you start shooting, the entire unit on the sets of a film gets along just fine. But diplomacy has never worked for me. I tell people the truth they don’t want to hear. I always believe in speaking my mind. People just cannot deal with that.

I dislike it when people lie. Why can’t they just be honest?” But Tanuja now clearly wears the halo of tranquility, rather beatifically. “I have learnt to let go. Why sweat the small stuff? It is just the small stuff I have realised. Once I lost my temper, and at that time my elder daughter, Kajol, was just 10. She said why don’t you lose your temper forever, instead of losing it again and again, and recovering it to lose it again? That drove the point home. Children are perceptive. They teach you so much. Everyone has to change, you can’t be flatlined, and live in a rut.”

Tanuja blazed through the film marquis as a rebel. It was her remarkable resilience that helped her in bringing up two children virtually single-handedly once her marriage soured. “My parents separated when we were kids,” she shares. “My mother (actor Shobhana Samarth) was a class apart. Beautiful, intelligent, strong, she has always been a huge inspiration. She brought up the four of us on her own. She sent me to Paris to study, and then I was called back as there was a cash crunch. See ,when life throws up a googly, you have a choice, in adopting your own attitude. I could have sulked and wept, as I never wanted to come back. I did what I knew: act in films, and helped in dealing with the financial situation. I chose to enjoy myself while taking up acting. Life is what you make of it.”

Up, close & personal

It wasn’t easy of course, the difference lay in co-parenting the children, reveals Tanuja.
“I never played the blame game. What would that have achieved? I let it go, turned the page. I sent my kids to a boarding school,” she reveals. Did she experience the guilt of a working mother? “Why? I gave them the best I could, at that point. If they do not appreciate it, they have to deal with it. Their problem, not mine. I never feel guilty about having put them in a hostel. My ex-husband and I co-parented our kids and were there for them, together, as parents. Decisions like Kajol getting into films were taken by us together, with the kids. In fact, I took care of my husband when he was ailing and we actually became good friends again before he passed away.”

Years have rolled on. Tanuja stays knitted to a core group of friends. “We understand each other perfectly,” she says. “I have learnt to be more human, sensitive and compassionate. I am not a control freak anymore. I have resolved not to let anger affect me. I believe in moving on as life is simply too short. My silver years have brought me wisdom. I have realised that no one can take peace away from you, so I am happy being who I am. No apologies at all, ever. I have learnt that you must always forgive yourself, never be harsh. You are not perfect, neither is anyone else.”

Of course, Tanuja is in a relaxed space now, an indulgent grandmother (to Kajol’s kids Nysa and Yug), and a consistent crusader (heading an NGO to fob off illegal construction in Lonavla, where her primary home is). “I have never understood when people say I do not have the time. I have always believed in creating my own time. My time belongs to me as long as I am alive. I can sleep for only two hours and do all the things that I want to do,” she says in her characteristic outspoken manner. “I love reading books, all kinds.

I enjoy nature. When I am in Mumbai, I soak up every bit there is, sitting in my bungalow: the greenery, the parrots that come to my window, the kites I see flying in the sky, my dogs curling up at my feet... I sign on movies only if the script interests me. I get up when I want to, I don’t have a regular fitness regime. I do yoga when I want to. I enjoy each day as it comes.” What if she were to die right now? “So be it. I know that I am loved and that I will be missed. That is enough for me,” signs off Tanuja with a mysterious smile.