BENGALURU: Tanuja will be in Bengaluru on Saturday. She is looking forward to coming to a city she has not visited for ages.
“I remember I shot for a serial. Previous to it, a couple of my films were shot there. It is a beautiful city. I am looking forward to meeting my good of friends who live there,” she told City Express.
One of the evergreen actors of Bollywood, she maintains her charm and appeal. How, we ask? “I really don’t know. But the most important thing is to be true to yourself, and it is okay to know who you are. I have no problem with age. I mostly think what I have to do and I have the energy to do it,” she says.
Not commenting about much about today’s filmdom, She says, “I have no idea what thought process usually run in today’s actors. I personally feel that we should allow people to be themselves. Don’t make judgments and evaluations. Preserve that energy to do something you like to do and commit to it totally. That’s what I do. I just live my life, the way I want to.”
Tanuja once got an opportunity to work in a Malayalam film. “It was a great experience. I felt Malayalam was very close to Bengali and a basic Sankrit language. I found it pretty easy. But now if you ask me say something in Malayalam, I don’t think I will be able to. I suppose, if I just stay in Kerala for a week or 10 days, I will definitely learn it. I pick up languages easily. Otherwise, I have just shot for Hindi films down South,” says Tanuja, who is ready to accept films here, provided she likes the script.
“I should be able to understand the thought process of a director as far as my role is concerned. Whether it is a two-day or 10-day role, I would want it to stand out. I can’t work for the sake of working. It is not really about the money,” she says.
Tanuja is an actress who looks forward. ‘For me, the past is over and done with. Why would I want to reminisce unless it is so important that I learnt a big lesson from it?” says Tanuja.
She explains her philosophy: “I don’t have a future. I live in the present and in something I am committed to. I don’t know what will happen the next moment. I am not a planner.”
Since the family is full of artistes, it is interesting to know what they talk about when they meet.
“We are a very normal family. My mother was a strict disciplinarian. She said education comes before anything else. And do your duty. I was brought up with certain values, which I follow and taught my children too. Learn how to be a human being first. I have no caste, creed or religion. If I see a human suffering,
I make sure I do something about it,” she says.
She is delighted about how her daughter Kajol and son-in-law Ajai Devgn are doing. “He is a great son-in-law, more like my son, and I see them happy,” she says.
Tanuja stays most of her time in Lonavala, where she runs an NGO called Lonavala Kandala Citizens Forum.
“Our basic aim is to put good infrastructure into the twin towns. That’s what I am committed to. It has been seven years now. It is tough going and one has to fight on all fronts. We fight corruption, which is a big story. I am sure to win because I have made up my mind. I will make it happen. I believe that if you send your will out to the universe, it will send it back to you reinforced. Your life becomes what you choose to become and it is up to you to make that choice,” she says.nt to say more,” she told City Express over the phone.
