Breaking away from her “bubbly and positive” image in Bollywood, Juhi Chawla played the negative character of Sumitra Devi in 2014 film Gulaab Gang. The actress now says she would love to do more roles like that.
“I am open to doing something unusual again but I am spoiled after the experience of Gulaab Gang. The next negative character has to be something fantastic and edgier than Sumitra Devi,” Chawla said in Mumbai.
During her career, the mostly did romantic or comic roles in films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Bol Radha Bol and Bhootnath. So, a negative role was a change.
“In 20 years of my career, I was only known for my bubbly, positive, sweet roles. I was apprehensive to play this kind of character who was completely evil from the first to last scene. So, I refused the role at first. But I liked the spunk [of] Gulaab Gang,” Juhi Chawla.
Gulaab Gang is about a group of women activists who wear pink (gulaab) saris and take on issues that affect women such as domestic violence and dowry harrassment. For Chawla, it was a great opportunity to feature in a movie with her contemporary, Madhuri Dixit.
“Initially, I was quite apprehensive about how would we work together. But before we started shooting, Soumik (director Soumik Sen) called Madhuri and me to his office. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours and for me, that really broke the ice. I told her that it’s really a good script and with us cast together for the first time, this film should go places,” Juhi said.
The actress, who believes in “equality for women and in women empowerment”, is content with the way her career shaped up in Indian films.
“When I look back at my career and my life and how much I have learnt, I feel blessed with what I have. I have stopped fighting with myself.
“There is an amazing power getting to know your inner self and learning how to use it and not fight with the world. If you know what makes you happy, your personality, interests and capabilities, just use them and everything else flows beautifully,” she said.
Gulaab Gang will be aired on Zee Action on August 22.
Chawla will next be seen in Chalk n Duster along with Shabana Azmi, Zarina Wahab and Divya Dutta.
