Himalayan News Service

New Delhi:

Indian film lovers have seen her change from a gawky teenager to a mature woman over the years. But Karisma Kapoor, who took time off from showbiz after marriage last year, says her “best role ever” is in the offing only now. After marriage, you seem to have completely drawn back into a shell. No new releases, no social events?

Not any more. I am working in full gear now. And then again it is all about choosing your roles. I can still do 10 films a year that simply require me to dance around trees. But that is not what I want to do. From Karishma to Karisma, you have literally grown up in front of our eyes. Now you are the wife of Delhi-based industrialist Sanjay Kapur... I have never consciously made any change or decision. Good things just happened to me step by step at the right time. It was a gradual growth. And now, post-marriage too, things are happening the way they are meant to.

What kind of roles are we going to see you in now onwards?

Right now, I have two films on hand. One is called ‘Mere Jeevan Sathi’ and the other will be formally announced in June. I’d even go so far as to say that ‘Mere Jeevan Sathi’ is my life’s best role. There is this amazing shock element to my character in the movie. In the other one too, I play a very nice role of a very homely woman who brings a whole family together.

Your ad campaign with Rasna -- is it any indicator of a soon-to-be- mother? No, no. Not for now at least! For now, I have my hands and my platter filled with work. How is married life? How is it different from a bachelor’s life? Not one bit different. My family is very encouraging and understanding. My husband too is very supportive of my work. So, I get to be busy and work continuously. So it is nice.

But you must be missing Mumbai like crazy...Oh! I do miss Mumbai. I miss my parents and I miss Kareena. She is more like a daughter than a sister to me. Even now we talk regularly, but I really miss all our little chit-chats. But Delhi has become my home. Mumbai is now my favourite destination.

How do you feel about the way Kareena’s career is shaping up?

I am very proud of her. At such a fledgling stage itself, she dared to take up bold roles like in ‘Asoka’ and ‘Chameli’. Even heroines with seven to eight years of experience would think twice before accepting such roles. I have always said what my grandfather once said, ‘the show must go on’, and it will. Kareena will do her bit. She will concentrate on her movies, and I on mine, and both of us will keep the show going. I have never ever taken my career for granted. Even in the beginning when I was inexperienced, I looked around, learnt from what I saw, and always sought to improve myself. Today when you look back, how does your career graph look to you? I was so lucky! I couldn’t ever have asked for a better career graph. As a child, movie heroines had always fascinated me. I used to feel that Sri Devi’s ‘Mr India’ should have been called ‘Miss India’ and Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Beta’ should have been called ‘Beti’. One fine day, I opened the papers to read that my ‘Raja Hindustani’ should have been called ‘Rani Hindustani’. I was thrilled! How is Karisma Kapoor as a person? Oh! I am a typical Cancerian. I am so possessive about my home and my family and my people.