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Real concern

Hema Malani on her experience as a woman in the film industry

`Oh! Ye tum kya karta hai.' She pouts with a childlike innocence as a fan slips his diary into her hand for an autograph. "Isme se sab dekh liya," she asks, as the bewildered man gets his diary back. He is bemused at her conduct, mesmerised by her beauty, and hypnotised by her charm. Listening to her is a pleasure, as her speech is tinged with humour. "Otherwise it becomes drab, no?" she asks. Even the Gods didn't act without their female counterparts who were called Shakti. They always involved them while taking important decisions," she says.

"I too faced that. I used to feel a little awkward, as everyone on the sets, except the hairdresser, was male. So I would take my mother along for shoots. Enacting emotional scenes or wearing funny clothes was embarrassing. But when I met Aruna Raje, the only woman director of her times, I was greatly influenced by her style of functioning."

She may be known as a doting mother, but ask her about her daughters and she shoots back, "Why are you so worried about them? Main ma ho kar worried nahi hun." She won't spare the bureaucracy either. "When I was the chairperson of NFDC, I was happy because they gave me a chair in a well decorated room. The rules of bureaucracy can't be broken whether it is for men or women," she says laughing.

RANA SIDDIQUI

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