Kajol I can not play the fool now
Two major awards within a span of a week. It is something that could only happen to an actress like Kajol in today's time. It was expected of her. It had to happen to her, but it happened much earlier than she'd ever expected. Kajol has been consistently and constantly been proving how very good she is as an actress and steadily growing into a great actress.
From the days of "Bekhudi" to the love stories made by Aaditya Chopra ('Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge') and Karan Johar ('Kuch Kuch Hota Hain') two of her favourite directors, to all the love stories she did with Ajay Devgn who she ultimately married that the two towering performances in 'Fanaa' (with Aamir Khan) and then 'My Name Is Khan' (with Shahrukh Khan) and right down to the animation film 'Toonpur Ka Super Hero' (with Ajay Devgn) she has only been showing signs of maturing into an actor India can and should be proud of.
Kajol is no ordinary actress. She has a background which is enough to make her one of the most talked about actresses. Her grandmother was the actress Shobhana Samarth who played the immortal role of Sita in 'Ram Rajya', the only film seen by Mahatma Gandhi. Kajol is the daughter of Tanuja who could have been a very sensitive and great actress if only she had taken her career seriously (watch her perform in Basu Bhattacharya's 'Anubhav' with the formidable actor Sanjeev Kumar and you will know what I am talking about). And Kajol is the neice of one of the greatest actresses, Nutan.
Kajol took a break after she married her hero, Ajay and had their first daughter and many felt it was all over for her. But the actress in her struck back like a flame never seen before in Kunal Kohli's 'Fanaa' and then struck again when she set the screens on fire with her performance in 'My Name Is Khan'. The presence of the two mighty Khans did not make any different to her as a performer of the kind of talent that comes only once in a way. It was, it seems these two performances which made the jury honour her with the Padmashri which came to as a very big surprise.
She was hardly to get over with the excitement of being a Padma Shri when she won the Filmfare Award for the 'Best Actress' for her performance in 'My Name Is Khan'. The still so child like mother of two children was all giggles and even embarrassed with the kind of applause, messages and bouquets which could fill the entire new bungalow built by her husband and even find a place outside the gate too! Here's Kajol answering a rapid round of questions...
I am not going to ask you how you feel. I know how you must be feeling and I can understand your state of excitement...
Thank God. How many times can I describe the same feeling, it is only but natural that a person feels very high and even loses balance when such a huge honour is bestowed by the Government of India itself. It feels great not just for my self, but also for my mother, my husband and to my children who have been very encouraging and have supproted me whenever I wanted to play a particular role which I felt I could play and satisfied the actress in me.
Did you expect something like this to happen at this stage of your career?
Not even in my wildest dreams. I always felt these kind of honours were given only to people who were in their sixties, seventies and eighties and sometimes even posthumously. When I was told that I was being conferred with the Padma Shri I was blank for several minutes! Then I thought someone was playing a joke on me, but I realised that it was very real when I received the letter from the Centre. I was silent for a while and wondered what great I had done to receive such a great honour. Believe me, I genuinely felt there was a long time to go for me to even think about it. And all those who know me will not be surprised if I said that I would never have thought of winning such a precious award.
What do you think is the one thing that the people in power who decide these awards must have taken in to consideration when they decided on your name?
It must have been very simple for them to take a decision about me. And if there was one thing about my body of work during the last fifteen years it must be my sheer sincerity, honesty and dedication to my work as an actress.
Some of your critics have, as was expected, feel that your chance could have come much later as there were many others who deserved it more than you…
This is certainly one reaction I expected as soon as the truth about the award dawned on me. I was sure that there would be people who would not be happy about my being the winner. But what could poor me do anything about a decision taken by people I have never heard or known before. Let all those who are upset about my being a Padma Shri go on a 'padayatra' to Delhi and shout out slogans agianst me. But I feel sorry for them because I know the decision taken cannot be changed now. It is at such times when people who show how much they hate the happiness of others that I feel ashamed of belonging to the human race.
What does the Padma Shri mean to you ?
I know that it is a very great honour for a girl who started her career only some years ago, but as a responsible artiste, I also know that I will have to do something better to let people know that I genuinely deserved the Padma Shri.
Who are the people who come to your mind at this great moment in your life?
I don't want to take any individual names because I know that by doing that I may miss out certain names and hurt them, which is the last thing I would like to do at this happy moment.
How has your husband reacted?
He is always a darling. He respects me and loves me whether I win a Padma Shri, a Filmfare or even the Oscar. My two children and he are the greatest awards for me in this life. I don't need anything else.
What happens to Kajol the actress now?
She cannot play the fool any longer or that is what I think the Padma Shri will force me to do. But I am not going to let it change me as a human being and as an actress. If at all it changes me, it should help me into growing into a much better actress. When I find the time and have a look within me, I feel that I have hardly done anything near some of the great actresses of the past, like my aunt Nutan, for example. I have still to reach a stage where I can find a mention whenever the history of Indian Cinema is written.
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