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Candid comments on her co-stars of yesteryear and her role as a
Unicef Goodwill Ambassador in fighting HIV-AIDS were the order of
the day as actress Sharmila Tagore made a fleeting visit to South
Africa.
Tagore, who first hit the headlines in the sixties for her bold
screen performances at a time when women in bikinis were still
frowned upon, participated in public interviews entitled "In
Conversation With," part of the Shared Histories Festival
celebrating India in South Africa, organised by the Indian missions
here.
In Durban Tagore earlier had a packed audience, but her
Johannesburg appearance on Sunday evening drew a rather poor crowd.
Tagore told of how she had been angry with her male co-stars who
were consistently late for shootings by up to six hours of the
scheduled times, singling out the late Sanjeev Kumar and Rajesh
Khanna, the latter one of her most popular pairings, as being
notorious for this. But Amitabh Bachchan, with whom Tagore
co-starred a few years ago in the film "Virrudh", came in for
praise for his work ethic and punctuality.
On her family life, Tagore related how she had met her husband,
Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi: "I don't think he ever
proposed to me. He just asked me to come and meet his mother and
then told her that he wanted to marry me!"
The couple have three children, Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan,
both actors. Another daughter, Saba, who accompanied her mother on
the trip, is a designer.
Responding also to a question about changes in censorship in India
in the past decade, Tagore, who is the chairperson of the Central
Board of Film Certification in India, said: "We've become more
liberal (in our censorship) because society has become more
liberal."
Tagore also expressed a desire to work with the youngest generation
of Indian directors "because they bring a different kind of energy
to the industry." She said her favourite directors were Nagesh
Kukkunoor of "Iqbal" fame; Vishal Bardhwaj, who made "Omkara" with
an award-winning role for her son Saif Ali Khan; and Rakesh Mehra,
who made "Rang De Basanti."
"I haven't retired (from the film industry), but roles can't be
engineered. The directors must want me."
On her favourite in the newest batch of starlets, Sharmila did not
beat about the bush as most Bollywood stars do with politically
correct answers that effectively name nobody, but immediately
replied: "Konkana Sen, (also a Bengali actress like Tagore) but she
won't have the stereotypical requirements of most directors."
Tagore was referring to the fact that the talented Konkana, who has
been lauded for the many "arty" roles she has done, would not be
considered for the fluffy heroine roles in most Bollywood films.
Tagore said she had been to Uganda where she was saddened to meet
many child-headed households because so many parents were dying of
the dreaded disease. She called for an end to discrimination
against people infected with HIV/AIDS.
Indo-Asian News Service
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