Reintroducing Chandralekha!

Remember the sensuous Chandralekha from Mani Ratnam’s Thiruda Thiruda? Anu Aggarwal, the 90s heartthrob who gave men sleepless nights with her stunning looks, was one of the rare actors to quit the industry during her peak.  Her life after her stint with the glamour industry, makes for quite an intriguing story, though! Be it a near death experience, or explorations to find the meaning of life, Anu has experienced it all. After shunning the limelight for almost two decades, she’s back with an intriguing autobiography about her journey — Anusual: Memoirs of a girl who came back from the dead’, which is to be released in Chennai later this week. She speaks to DC about her tryst with overcoming the odds, and how she’s a completely transformed person now.

In 1999, a horrific car accident turned her life upside down after she was left in a coma for 29 days. After recovering miraculously, she’s donned many hats  — yoga teacher, social activist, and motivational speaker to name a few! “My life is wilder than a Hollywood or Bollywood blockbuster!” starts the once hotshot international model. Talking about her visit to Chennai after 20 long years, she excitedly says, “It was Madras the last time I visited the city! I have lots of pleasant memories here. Can’t wait to visit  again and catch up with my buddies.”

Shifting focus towards the book, which will be launched by her close friend director Mani Ratnam, Anu says, “This is not a story glorifying a star, but is an honest confession by a normal human. This is a fascinating story of a woman’s self-discovery told  straight from the heart, including details of the men in her life — from millionaire jet-setters to yogis.” When queried about what made her quit films, she says that it was initially planned to be a short break — “At that point of time, it was too difficult for me as a single person to manage multiple things. Apart from that, I had a bad breakup and I thought that going away from all the glitz and glamour would bring me peace. Though many people advised against it, I stuck with my decision.” Further elaborating on this, she says, “I travelled to many places and it was also the time when I started questioning myself regarding what I really wanted in life.”

When asked if she would ever come back to the film industry again, Anu replies, “To be honest, I don’t know. I’m leading a very peaceful life now, but if something interesting comes by, then, why not? Not necessarily as an actor, it might even be as a director.” On a lighter note, when queried about whom she would like to date among the young actors currently, she says, “Haha! It’s difficult to pick one person as I find all of them hot. There’s something special about every actor today. Apart from this, they have progressive thinking too!”