‘It’s amazing I’m still around’

Looking back on the glorious 25 years she has spent in Bollywood, Juhi Chawla, one of the most loved and sought after names in the ’80s and the ’90s especially, says that she had never expected to have such a long run. The former Miss India had no connections in the film industry when she had first ventured out. “It’s amazing that I am still around and visible. I am glad to be a part of the film industry. The experience teaches you a lot of life lessons,” she says.

The actress says that in her early days she was nothing like the newcomers she encounters in the industry today. “Today all the girls are so well-groomed and well-prepared. They know how they want their career to shape up. I was pretty clueless when I started out,” she says. Juhi recalls how she went for her Miss India interview straight from her college. “I was wearing a simple outfit and a friend had done my make-up. But I managed to get selected. My first film, too, came easily to me. But even after winning the Miss India pageant I did not have anyone to guide me,” she says.

Juhi appreciates how the number of women working in the industry has escalated over the years. “I am surprised there are so many women working in the industry today. And not just as actresses, but behind the scenes too. When I had started out, the only other woman on the set, besides the actress, would be the hairdresser. So that’s definitely a positive change,” Juhi says.

So, which has been her toughest role till date, we ask her. “That has to be Arjun Pandit where I was cast opposite Sunny Deol. The film’s first half was romantic but the second half almost brought out the villain in me. Sunny was great in the action sequences but I was no action star. The climax of the film was one of the most difficult sequences to shoot. It had me and Sunny shooting under a moving train! Had he not been there, I think I would have either fainted or my head would have been chopped off. We were underneath the train while it was running over us. It was so frightening and disorienting that I kept wanting to raise my head, and had to repeatedly remind myself that if I raised my head even a couple of inches, I won’t have a head.”

But Juhi has no complaints; in fact she is grateful to have been offered the films she has been part of. “I feel blessed really. Yes, there have been some regrets — I have rejected some good films as well. But I am also glad I took some risks, experimenting with offbeat films, that not many people believed would work. Luckily for me, even my offbeat films, be it Jhankaar Beats or My Brother Nikhil, were well received.”

She has also worked with two of the most powerful Khans in the industry — Shah Rukh and Aamir. The actress continues to collaborate with SRK through their IPL venture as well. Juhi says, “Shah Rukh has always been a friend and we have done some wonderful films together. Then of course we are also associated because of Kolkata Knight Riders and there we have faced highs and lows as a team, which has made the friendship stronger. He is a superstar but I think at heart he is still simple. Aamir was one of my first heroes and he has always been very involved in every detail of a film. I remember him helping me with my dialogues during Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. The success he has achieved is amazing.”

Among the newer lot of actors in the industry, she finds it difficult to pick a favourite, although she has fond memories of Varun Dhawan and Ranbir Kapoor. Juhi says, “I think a lot of them are very talented. Some are fantastic dancers, others emote very well. I have known many of them right from their childhood days, so it would be unfair for me to pick a favourite. I have worked a lot with David Dhawan and I would enjoy spending time with the kids during breaks. White travelling to different locations, I remember me and Varun sitting on the back seat, singing songs and playing games. I also spent time with Ranbir when I was shooting with Rishiji. He would ask me these riddles and I would feel stupid if I couldn’t answer them.”

Juhi seems to have kept her kids away from film sets and the limelight in general. “My children don’t visit the sets mainly because we live in South Mumbai and they are not fond of travelling all the way to the suburbs where most shootings happen. But yes, I too, have always tried to keep them away from the public eye. I have wanted them to enjoy a normal childhood,” says the doting mother. So, do they want to get into films too? “Both my son and my daughter have these phases — one day they want to be a writer, another day, an actor. So I don’t know what they will end up doing eventually. As long as they enjoy whatever they choose, I have no issues,” Juhi adds.  

In her list of priorities, family comes first for Juhi. “When you are single it’s just you and your work. But when you are married it's you, your husband, your children and your work. My list has my family, my work, my music, in that order. Those are followed by my social work, my friends, social life and so on. So if I have to cut off, I will start from the bottom of my list,” she says.