‘My life is an open book'

Legendary Bollywood actress Hema Malini clearly belongs to the old school. And by that, we mean she doesn't travel with an entourage or have minions doubling up as personal assistants draping her sari for her. She even does her own make-up. And on those rare occasions when she's unable to do up the buttons on the back of her blouse, she enlists the help of an unsuspecting journalist.

"That will do. I suppose everybody will look at my face, right?," said Malini, craning her neck to check if her now-buttoned, tailored Neeta Lulla blouse sits well on her back.

"Or at least I hope so," added Malini, breaking into a loud laugh. Right before she faced Dubai's social set, who had gathered for a party to celebrate Malabar Gold's expansion, there was hardly anything inaccessible about the woman known as Indian cinema's "dream girl".

The face of the jewellery brand earned this sobriquet when the producer who launched her in Bollywood in 1968 with Sapnon Ka Saudagar kept her name under wraps and instead flashed "Dream Girl" on the screen.

"It was a great marketing strategy. But at that time I used to keep saying, ‘Why are you doing this? And why are you not telling them my real name?'" But the ethereal tag stuck and it seems to have worked wonderfully in her favour.

With more than 150 films under her belt in a career spanning four decades, she's one of the few actors in the notoriously ageist Bollywood who can commandeer the occasional meaty role.

Need proof? In 2003, Malini, 63, re-united with her earlier co-star Amitabh Bachchan after Nasitk (1983) in Baghban, a hit romantic drama that revolved around 50-something.

Reservations

"That opportunity is something rare. Many other girls of my age were there, but I was selected to do it and I consider myself really lucky," she said. Initially, she says she had reservations about taking up a role in an unconventional romance that highlighted the plight of an elderly Indian couple treated shoddily by their kids.

"At the time of Baghban, even though my children were all grown up, I was very hesitant to take it up. But my mother, who had heard the narration, was insisting that I do the film. She said it was a nice story. I did that film for her."

The Tamil Nadu-born actress also attributes her long reign in the spotlight to her Indian classical dance background. She, along with her daughters Esha and Ahana Deol, make a sensational Indian classical dance trio and tour the world together.

"Maybe that's why I have survived for so long. Yes, there were other artists like me but they have stopped working in films altogether. The offers are coming because I constantly do dance ballets, I think. We keep performing in front of large and small crowds."

Her flourishing career is highlighted further when she reveals that she was once rejected by a South Indian filmmaker for being "too slim".

"South heroines were a little plump and I wasn't. That was the main reason why he rejected me. It was very good on his part. Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here. I would have just vanished and my whole story would have been over."

She may have enjoyed a triumphant reign in the ‘70s and '80s, but she still believes that she's not as lucky as Hollywood's Meryl Streep.

"I consider myself lucky, but she's luckier than me. I watch all her films and I feel, ‘why can't they make films like these in Bollywood?' But I suppose, they have to Indianise a lot, such films may not work in Bollywood," said Malini, referring specifically to the iconic, illicit romance The Bridges Of Madison County.

"Those ideas are too Western. I'd love to do a Bridges of Madison County. But opposite me also, there should be a big hero — bigger than me. Except Bachchan there's nobody else. I wish many other out there like Jitendra, Rajesh Khanna — all would be out. Where are they?" said Malini.

The iconic actress, who romanced a sizeable matinee idol contingent in the '70s and ‘80s, may not be flooded with risqué roles but she has managed to push the boundaries by taking up a variety of characters. From playing a gangster's pawn in the Dev Anand-starrer Johny Mera Naam to a bloodthirsty mistress in Lal Patthar or a double role in Seeta Aur Geeta, Malini has been credited with taking career risks at a time when actresses were all about maintaining a squeaky clean image. She did all of it by sticking to her no-revealing-costumes clause.

"When an opportunity comes, I don't leave it — whether it's dance, politics or films. You should never hesitate to take things up."

Bold career choices

Her indefatigable attitude is not confined to making bold career choices. Her personal life, especially her controversial romance with her married co-star Dharmendra, his alleged conversion to Islam and his subsequent marriage to the Dream Girl (while remaining married to his first wife) is well-documented. However, she didn't receive flak for her unconventional personal choices, largely due to the grace and dignity with which she carried herself.

"I have lived life on my own terms," she proclaims. But she's quick to set the record straight on her rumoured conversion to Islam.

"It's very wrong. I don't know why people keep saying that I changed religion. It's absolutely wrong and I didn't do that — let me make it clear to you. I don't know who started this rumour. It sounds funny to me." But don't mistake her belligerence for reluctance to reveal. The Sholay star gave her nod to a tell-all biography titled Hema Malini — The Authorized Biography, a work that mapped out personal details such as how she almost married her co-star Jeetendra, the romantic proposal extended by her co-star Sanjeev Kumar and her love for Indian classical dance.

"There's nothing wrong in my life that I should hide something. It's an open book," she says. She may have nothing to hide, but one thing Malini has often been accused of is orchestrating her daughter Esha's Bollywood career. Unlike Malini, her daughter didn't enjoy stupendous box-office success and has remained in her shadow.

"Not at all. If I was, I would have done it better. She [Esha Deol] was very independent. I thought, let her select her roles and let me not be interfering in any of it.

"Maybe somewhere the selection of her films were not that good — maybe it was good but it didn't do well in the box office. And in Bollywood, if the film does well then you are a big star and otherwise you are not. No matter however good you are."

But the actor-politician's hands-off approach doesn't extend to keeping out of her daughter's wedding preparations, which are slated for June. Shopping for traditional jewellery at Malabar Gold and planning a production venture with her immediate family members is on top of her list.

"I am a bit busy with my political campaigns — once that's done I am going to get into preparing for the wedding in a big way. I am looking forward to it all."

Hema Malini on ...

Dabbling in politics:

"I am an artist. I have my own fan following and that is being used by my party [Indian political party BJP] for their publicity and their work. I happily do it."

Being India's leading classical dance exponent:

"I love dancing and there's a huge audience around the world for such ballets."

Reuniting with her husband Dharmendra on the big-screen:

"That's a big question. Recently, I had an offer to work with him. Let's see, if we both like the script, we are going to do the film."

Being the face of Malabar Gold:

"I was in Dubai two years ago for their store opening. They have grown a lot since then. Also, I have shopped quite a lot there because they have these beautiful traditional South Indian pieces — some rare pieces."

Go online

Watch a video of the interview with Hema Malini at gulfnews. com/gntv