'Ageing is a state of mind'

Birthdays are occasions to celebrate, even if one virtually lives out of their suitcase. Actress Kajal Aggarwal took time off from her jet-setting life — she is busy shooting for seven films in three languages — to celebrate her birthday last week with a bunch of close buddies in Goa.

Kajal cherishes birthdays as they remind her of the youth in her. “Ageing is a state of mind and I still feel that I am sweet sixteen. I am quite hyperactive when compared to the calm people around me,” Kajal tells Metrolife.

Hyperactive she may call herself, but she’s never seen at any Bollywood parties or even hanging around with anybody just about anywhere. “I believe in working hard and drawing a clear distinction between my personal and professional life. I like it that way and when I hang out, I do so only with a close set of friends,” she asserts.

Still wallowing in the success of her latest film, ‘Businessman’ with Mahesh Babu, Kajal feels shooting for so many movies simultaneously is nothing new. “I’ve always been used to such a busy schedule. I must keep myself busy,” she confesses. Kajal plays the character of a very contemporary girl in Thuppakki, opposite Tamil actor Vijay.

She has done a couple of action sequences in K V Anand’s Maatraan opposite Suriya. “It’s been great working on this project. I haven’t had a minute’s rest but I am enjoying the pressure,” she says.

She thinks cinema must always portray a picture that’s larger than life and there must be a lot of song and dance. “Cinema is a means to transport you to a different plane altogether. It’s not meant to be serious or provocative,” she avers. She feels cinema has undergone a transformation and there are more directors willing to experiment. “It’s not predictable anymore,” she comments.
And unlike a lot of other actresses, Kajal says there isn’t any co-star she particularly admires. “They’re all very talented in their own way. It’s tough for me to pick out any one person,” she observes.

Kajal feels she has come a long way since her debut in 2006.  “I’ve grown as an actress and I feel that it’s my commitment and uncompromising attitude towards work that have brought me thus far. I hope to get better with each project,” she notes.  

About the Kannada film industry, she says, “I’ve been getting a lot of offers from the Kannada film industry. It may be small but it reels out some realistic cinema. It has a soul and loads of entertainment. I’d love to do a Kannada movie someday.”