Heartwarming to see the way Sara Ali Khan has turned out, says Sharmila Tagore
Yesteryear cine-star Sharmila Tagore who brings in her birthday today has no plans to mark the occasion with too much fanfare. When asked what she planned on doing, she replied, “Not very much. Some friends will drop in. Soha is coming. The other children Sabaa and Saif will also come, if they can. Let’s see.”
Heydays and Now
Looking back on her career, the actress who managed motherhood and acting phenomenally well says, “I don’t think I was pregnant with Saif during the shooting of Aradhana but yes, during Safar and Choti Bahu I was pregnant and quite unwell in the last phase of my pregnancy. Then during Besharam, I was pregnant with Sabaa. Now, the kind of pressure on time that I tackled earlier, are no more there. Though I do keep myself busy with professional commitments like the random ad here and a cinema conference there. I now have more time for not just my grandchildren, but also for my children and our ancestral home in Pataudi.
On husband M.A.K. Pataudi
Speaking on whether she is keen on a bio-pic on her cricketer husband, the erstwhile Nawab of Pataudi, she says, “Well, it will depend on who the captains of the ship are the producer and director. It is a good story, I think, with all the twists and the turns in his life like the death of his father and losing his eye after which his average came down from 60 to 30. To receive such a blow at such a young age, I don’t think anyone else could have been able to make those adjustments and that kind of an impact with one eye. He not only batted but also fielded after the eye accident. I think he was a wonderful sportsperson. God knows, what he’d have achieved if he had both his eyes. She continues, “We never thought of him as being visually impaired at all because he had a wonderful temperament. He absorbed that loss and moved ahead. Tiger’s life was filled with losses, his father, his eye, his privy purse. In her book Soha has written so well about her father.” Who would she like to play Tiger Pataudi? Sharmila is clear that it is for the filmmakers to decide. Then she muses, “His story has so many phases. Maybe, Saif can be in one phase. Even a good documentary is a good idea. Unfortunately there isn’t too much footage on Tiger available.”
Re-energised by grandchildren
Sharmila’s grandchildren have been a lot in the news lately. “I do have lots more time for my grandchildren, and that adds to my happiness,” she says but rues she cannot see them as much as she would like to. “We live in different cities, but I must say they re-energise me whenever we meet. There’s nothing like children’s energy. They are always curious, and enthusiastic about different things. So yes, being around Taimur and Inaaya makes me really happy. I wish I could be with them often,” she says.
Proud of Sara
Revealing, that she is excited about Sara’s debut in Kedarnath, she continues, “I am very impressed by her, though I don’t see why her self confidence should surprise me. Whether it was on Koffee With Karan, or (speaking to) Rajeev Masand or the BBC, her confidence and charm made me so happy. It’s so heartwarming to see how she has turned out. When asked what she’s doing in films after going to Columbia University, she said the education was for her growth as a person and not for career. I am proud of her.
Worried for Taimur
Coming to the latest media sensation Taimur, she says, “I must confess I’m worried about him. We have all had our share of media attention. They place you on a pedestal and then suddenly drop you. At the moment Taimur is not affected because he’s too young to understand what’s going on. But when he’s older, if the attention is taken away, he might get affected. He’s innocent and he’s young… Let’s hope he won’t be adversely affected.”
