Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Returns To The Silver Screen
Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has returned to Bollywood after a 5 year break with her new film Jazbaa. At a recent press conference for the film’s promotion in the capital, the actress sat down for a quick interview.
Excerpts:
What made you choose this film to mark your return to Bollywood after five years?
My attitude as an actor is to respond to a film’s script. I don’t carry anything more than that. I never ever thought that I have to announce some kind of a comeback. I wasn’t working on films. But I really didn’t feel that I was away for too long; I haven’t realised the time that has gone by. I’ve never really been that calculative as an actress. I liked the script and the opportunity to work with an incredible team. And with this film (Jazbaa) I was happy to come on board with Sanjay Gupta and to work with such stellar actors like Irrfan Khan and ShabanaAzmi and AtulKulkarni. It was a wonderful team that would excite anybody. So I felt very comfortable.
Were you jittery to face the camera after 5 years?
We always say it, but today I’m saying it with experience that once an artist, always an artist. It’s like how a fish takes to water. I never thought that I had gone away from the limelight. I mean people take vacations; we have actors who make one film in two years – we don’t realise it. It’s just getting the opportunity to do what we love doing and hoping to learn from every experience. I became a mother and during that period, through brand endorsements and social work I was getting the chance to talk to the media and the audience.
Your look in the film is very intense and you’re portraying the role of a lawyer. Did you do any research?
No, this is an out-and-out commercial thriller. It has its own thing. I am a working mother in the film, so by vocation I am a lawyer. The director has done all the research that needs to be done and had presented it to the actor. And it was not like this was taken from reality so you really need to match a certain kind of fact. Except that Sanjay was very clear there was a certain way he wanted to film the courtroom scene as opposed to the perception we all probably tend to hold.
What was unique in a lot of scenes (and not just the courtroom scene), was that Sanjay would have us act out the whole scene from different places. It was new to me because as a director, I really thought he would say abyahan, abyahan and there was a certain way that he would shoot it because of the quick edit patterns. That made working with the actors that I was to work with, a joy. And he will do what he has to do at the editing table. He maintained that same theory even at the courtroom scene; he wanted to give it a sense of realism that you’re doing it like you would at a job, rather than keeping it very theatrical. And that was interesting for us to do while playing the character and especially the courtroom scene. But beyond that, it’s like any person while going to work; you’re playing a professional.
How did you balance shoots and promotions with spending time with your daughter Aaradhya? Was it difficult?
No, that comes naturally to me. Time has just flown by. I haven’t left her alone ever for a single night. Motherhood is all about planning. It’s not easy for any working mother. Every wife, mother and a professional has to do a lot of planning. With me it’s slightly different. I am fortunate that I can bring my child to my workplace. Even when I was not acting; I was doing endorsements, events, etc. and Aaradhya would accompany me to all these places. During Jazbaa, Sanjay Gupta phased out the shooting over fifty one days according to my time constraints.
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