Cinema can go a long way in promoting positive bilateral relations between Australia and India, especially Bollywood films as they are "all about heart", said Rani Mukherjee, who was in Sydney as chief guest at the 2010 Indian Film Festival — Bollywood and Beyond.
"Cinema showcases different cultures and Indian films are all about our culture, our traditions, human relations and all about heart. So when Australians watch Indian films, they will get to know Indians better and that will help in knowing each other better," Mukherjee said.
So does she feel socially responsible while doing a movie?
Giving the example of her role as a deaf, dumb and blind girl in Black, she said, "I do expect that people who do not know about the deaf and blind get more aware of people like them. They are such spirited, lively, fun people and there is so much to learn from them."
Retrospective
The festival, which opened with Black and Dil Bole Hadippa in Sydney, is screening a retrospective of Mukherjee's distinctive films alongside recent Bollywood hits, some regional cinema gems and documentaries.
For Mukherjee, every role is a dream role, but her role in Dil Bole Hadippa was "wonderful".
"It is wonderful being a man and to feel like a man. It was a dream role because I could never imagine in my life that I would cross-dress as a man. I also got to experiment with cricket, a sport I had never played in my life. And, of course, being a man and tying your hair up in a turban was the most relaxing part!"
Being a Bengali, was it difficult for her to play the role of a Sardar?
"Punjabis and Bengalis make a great combination — even marriages between them are lovely," said Mukherjee, relating an interesting episode about how she was exchanged with a Punjabi baby at the hospital and her mother had to fight to get her back.
"I still have to crack the code whether I am a Sardar or Bengali," she said.
Mukherjee also revealed that if she weren't an actress, she would have been "a housewife with my sari tucked in my waist, making chapattis for my husband, raising two kids, probably in Allahabad or Kolkata or somewhere where my parents would have married me off!"
So is she ready to direct films after a career spanning 17 years as an actress?
"I would like to do a lot of things in life, but you never get to do everything that you want to do. When an actor probably completes 10 years, you are often asked would you like to direct or write.
"I didn't want to become an actress, but I became one and so I have this thing in my head — ‘Never say never.' It is not something I have planned, but if I do get an opportunity and have this energy rush in my body to take up the responsibility of a director some day, I would definitely love to direct."
Asked if she dreams about winning an Oscar, the multi award-winning actress said: "I would dream about everything and as an actor our greed never stops for awards, recognition, fame, and love and warmth from people; so it is a never-ending process for an actor."
The actress, who chooses her roles with care and takes what inspires and excites her, is looking forward to No One Killed Jessica, a film based on the murder of Delhi model Jessica Lall, in which she plays the journalist.
"It is a very different film that I am doing after a long time. It is a powerful role, so I don't know how my fans are going to react to it, but I am looking forward to it because it is an interesting movie based on a true-life story."
