It calls for courage to admit that being in a perpetual state of insecurity is not an easy emotion to deal with. Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla, who features in this week’s release Gulaab Gang, stands proof. In this women-centric drama, she shares screen space with the ‘90s superstar and expert dancer Madhuri Dixit — a role that Chawla would have rejected a decade ago.
“Back then, I wasn’t secure enough about my own ability and whether I should be there,” Chawla said in an interview with tabloid!. She feared there were would be petty comparisons drawn on who got a better role or who came off looking better. Her fears are rational since the two were the most sought-after heroines in the ‘90s and they often lobbied for the same plum acting projects.
“But today, I am not bound by those thoughts. I do things to please myself. And once I had that figured out, I went into the film with the confidence that I can pull it off and together we will make the mark.”
Chawla, who was known for her syrupy girl-next-door roles, has taken on a manipulative politician’s role in Gulaab Gang. According to her, as soon as she made peace with the fact that Dixit who plays the good-hearted Rajjo may walk away with the best lines in the film, it got a lot easier.
Her reasoning? A movie can always be spiced up with a menacing villain. But she wonders if people would buy into her meanness or just “laugh at her attempt”?
Sheer evil
“There are only grey shades. I am just pure evil and the interesting bit is that there’s no reason behind that manipulative behaviour. She didn’t struggle in her childhood nor was she a victim of abuse,” Chawla said.
In complete contrast is Dixit’s character who wields a baton and forms an all-women vigilante group in her village to fight injustices against women. She’s an angel-incarnate who employs aggressive methods to clean up society.
“But it’s not a male bashing film. It’s a film that will entertain and inspire women to take charge. We are saying that education is the key to a better future. Unless there’s knowledge, there’s not going to be any improvement in the situation of women. I believe in that,” Dixit said.
While their cause is noble, in real life, the Gulaab Gang team is battling a lawsuit filed by activist Sampat Lal who claims its makers didn’t get permission to make a film on her life. She formed Gulabi Gang, a group of pink sari-clad women vigilantes from Uttar Pradesh. Based on her allegations, the Delhi High Court has ordered a stay on the release of the film in India until May 8. However, the UAE local distributors have gone ahead with their release in this region.
Ask Dixit about the issue and she adopts a diplomatic stand. “The producers will be able to answer that question, but this film is a salute to all the women who are doing extraordinary work,” Dixit said, quoting Lal and Stop Acid Attacks campaigner Laxmi as the paragons of virtue.
Action scenes
“Gulaab Gang will entertain, educate and inspire,” Dixit said. The mother-of-two, who took a sabbatical from Bollywood in 1999 after her marriage to US-based doctor Sriram Madhav Nene, is back in form. The trailers show her indulging in a fierce hand-to-hand combat, a feat that she pulled off without a body double.
“I knew taekwondo and that helped me a bit because your basics are covered. We also had a shaolin instructor who taught me how to hold the laatis [batons] and use it. The challenging part was to look like at ease with it,” Dixit said.
“You know what, the action was a bit like dancing. You just need to find balance, be fluid and learn to be at ease with your hand and feet,” she added.
Interestingly, the Mumbai-raised star, 46, felt right at home playing a pink sari-clad evangelical spirit from a small town.
“I may now live in a city. But I had uncles and aunts whom I visited in villages often, so it was not a new thing for me … but this film made me realise that there is a large number of people living in villages and their struggles are so different from the small percentage that’s living in the Indian cities in their high-rise apartments. Sometimes our head is in the clouds and we are not aware of what’s going on in these villages,” Dixit said.
Not preachy
While Gulaab Gang aims to inspire, its villain Chawla is clear that her film will never turn preachy.
“Films are primarily for entertainment. There’s a social message but we are presenting it in a different manner … There’s lot of dialogue baazi [conversations that make an impact] in the film. Remember Amitabh Bachchan’s famous movie dialogue that goes Hum jahan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi se shuru hoti hain [Where I stand, the queue beings from there] in Kaalia, nobody speaks like that in real life, but you wish you did during a confrontation. And Gulaab Gang has plenty of such crackling lines that’s packed with action and masala [fiery],” Chawla said.
While the women in Gulaab Gang are shown as a formidable force, the reality for Bollywood actresses when it comes to being courted with meaty roles is grim.
“Good roles for women are few and far between. A role like the one in Gulaab Gang was never offered to me in the past. When you asked me about women-centric films, I couldn’t name one in a snap and that’s not a good sign. Usually, the women in Bollywood films lend beauty and colour. But I hope more women-centric films are made in future. We are up for it,” Chawla said.
