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on 2008/1/20 3:42:49
Sultry, intelligent and candid should be the gorgeous Lara Dutta’s middlenames. The former beauty queen might have been through several professional and personal lows to have dampened her spirit, but the 20-something claims she has absolutely no complaints about it. In her own optimistic way, she says with that trademark 1000-watt smile, “Life is fantastic.”
Quiz her about her current box-office status (apart from a successful Partner) and whether it continues to worry her and she confesses that some flops notwithstanding rave reviews have more than made up for the lack of commercial returns her films, Zinda, No Entry and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom got. She says being appreciated for her performances is nice and if she can tickle the audience pink with her new found comic timing, then she’s fine. “There are not many actors who can do comedy roles so that makes me feel comfortable as an actor,” she grins.
After a deluge of item numbers and cameos, leggy Lara has no problems about even being the glam girl if it comes to playing the romantic lead in a big-ticket film. She admits that unfortunately there are not many opportunities for women in Bollywood to do women-oriented or meaty roles. “Even when No Entry was appreciated, people came up and said ‘Oh aap kitni achi lag rahi thi,’ as if my performance didn’t matter. It’s sad, that in the end only our looks matter, and sometimes nothing else registers!” she says. And even now she has no problems about shaking her leg in an item song. “ One should have the confidence to make such a song look classy. If you have talent, it will be appreciated at some point or the other. The audience might lap up item numbers for a while, but they are sure to appreciate a good performance too,” she says on an optimistic note.
And when she’s not shooting for her television show, Mission Ustaad, Lara has plenty up her sleeves. Coming up next on her screen platter is Banda yeh Bindaas hai with Govinda, Partner 2 opposite Salman Khan and playing Paro in Aur Devdas, besides an untitled action flick with Akshay Kumar That’s quite a lot to keep her Bollywood diary busy, we feel. And she admits that for a single woman without a godfather or a protective ‘mummy’, life has been fine so far. On the personal front, even a break-up with longtime beau Kelly Dorjee didn’t shatter her. In fact the headturner chose to maintain a dignified silence and didn’t do kiss-and-tell interviews at all. She firmly points out that she takes a cue from Madhuri Dixit Nene and Kajol and the way they have conducted their careers in the film industry. “Look at Madhuri and Kajol? Aren’t they managing wonderfully well? I think everything depends on how I fare professionally, that part of my life is what I am accountable for. As for my personal life, what happens there is nobody’s business and I owe no explanations to anyone except my family,” she adds.
And sure, 2008, promises lots of action for Lara. “I have lots to look forward to in 2008 and am game for the responsibilities that fame brings in,” she signs off.
