My Life My Rules: Juhi Chawla

Suman Sharma interacts with one of the most effervescent of our stars, Juhi Chawla, and comes back with some starlight.

- Suman Sharma

Juhi Chawla looks as fresh as she did 20 years ago when she was in her prime. Age has added to her beauty, infact, she recently impressed in Chalk And Duster, where she’s acting besides Shabana Azmi. It’s a film, which takes on the rampant corruption in the education sector. Juhi is full of stories about the shoot, which also united her with yesteryear co-star Rishi Kapoor. “The two days when Chintuji was on the set were fantastic. Shabanaji knew so many stories about him, which we didn’t know. We listened spellbound. I told them how Chintuji got his hair make-up done when we shot back in the ‘90s.I’d be ready by 9 am, hair and make-up done. He’d come in at 10 am and sit under a tree. The make-up dada would put the radio on and start his magic. But Chintuji was impatient. He’d tolerate Dada’s administrations for 10 minutes, pick up the sponge, apply some powder and say ‘ho gaya.’ I still laugh when I recall that. He was strict and would often scold us. But he was super cute too.”

She’s upbeat about the fact that she got a chance to work with Shabana and chalks it as a learning experience. “She is an amazing artiste. One thing I learnt from her is how to base your character on a real person. And then draw from that person’s mannerisms and small details and pour them into your role. She observes everything minutely. When you watch her cooking in the film – the way she has tied her hair and gamcha on top of it – you’re reminded of a middle-class woman. She wore a typical middle-class cotton printed gown. I never thought about my roles in such a way.”