You
play Amitabh's wife in the film. Wouldn't the age difference
between you and Amitabh Bachchan show on screen?
NANDITA:
"Its meant to. It's everybody playing their own age. I am
not pretending to be older and nor is he pretending to be
younger. So, initially when the role came to me I was also
very sceptical and felt that this is bad casting. And may be I
shouldn't be there at all. I had earlier actually said no to
the film, and had stopped thinking about it completely, till
after two months Rakesh calls me up again and tells me,
"Look, I've been thinking and I really want you to do
it." Then I read the script and told him, I don't like
this and I don't like that, we sat with the writer, and we
worked on it for almost three to four months. And then it was
too late to say no.
I told him that if u give me a white streak or make Amitabh
look younger it's not going to work, because ultimately he
looks what he looks and I look what I look. But within that we
can make it a believable relationship. Because a couple is not
a couple by the way they look, they become a couple on the
basis of how they behave with each other. And
if
we have nice solid scenes which are couple-like - having good
times, going through a crisis together, fighting - everything
that makes a couple - everything that makes it a real
relationship, I think people will believe." "A
couple is not a couple by the way they look, they
become a couple on the basis of how they behave with each
other."
You
have done films that actually span the length and breadth of
the country, and each film fitting in its respective genre.
How different are the working systems and the ambience on the
sets?
NANDITA:
"Every set is different. The smaller films are far more
informal, and everybody is treated equally. The bigger films
are far more structured and have people's designations far
better defined. And even the gender bias between men and women
is not unusual. Yet one can't always make generalistaions.
Like in Rakesh's film, the people involved were all new and we
all became such good friends."
How
was it working Mr. Bachchan?
NANDITA:
"Well, he's an iconic figure in the film industry. There
are so many people who have grown up watching his films. The
only thing is that I have not really grown up seeing
commercial films. So, I was excited to work with him but I was
not nervous. Also, I feel a film is teamwork and everybody has
to do his or her own bit. You can't be so much in awe that you
can't perform. And sometimes when I say, "Look, I am
not over-awed by people," they misunderstand it as being
arrogant. But to admire somebody or to respect somebody is
very different than being in awe of somebody. And I definitely
admire and respect Mr. Bachchan."
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