Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: 24 hours are still not enough!

I last met Aishwarya Rai Bachchan before her marriage. To me, she was Ash then — bright, caring, confident and very down-to-earth. We have cried, shared gossip (and misunderstandings), advice (Ash is one of the most practical, intelligent actresses I know and a sensible advice-giver too) and exchanged notes on various issues from her roles to actresses not getting paid as much as big actors. ARB (as she’s known today) had done then what no actress would've dared to — ask for a consideration from the international overflow of profits from the film Mangal Pandey from Aamir Khan. It’s now 2015 and Ash’s film post marriage and motherhood, Jazbaa just released last week. This time, though I am meeting her as the Bachchan bahu and as a mother, our meeting is as warm as ever. Time is short (she’s doing another interview post mine), but then with Ash, time is always running ahead of her. I guess she manages to fit in an incredible amount of work in a short time, because she’s one of the most organised persons I've met. Over to ARB...

What’s your average day like?
Like any other woman’s normal day. You've known me for years; you know my day better than anyone!

When I knew you, you were single... 
And then marriage and motherhood happened and with it came multi-tasking... So much changes after marriage, no? Before my marriage, I used to tell you that 24 hours a day are too few for me. But with marriage and motherhood. it’s the same thing — 24 hours are still not enough. But then, for sure, I have realised with experience, that, we as women have an amazing capacity to multi-task. With every phase of my life, I have managed to pack in that much more. You know me, nothing is in half-measures. I only take on in my life as much as I can, whatever that may be with absolute commitment. I give of myself whole-heartedly. That’s the key to my being and when I look around I am not the only one. Every working woman in their lives every day has the capacity to multi-task. Our capacity to multi-task is immense, which means our capacity is immense. It’s empowering to realise and recognise that.

You chose Sanjay Gupta’s Jazbaa as your first film post marriage and motherhood. You could've taken your pick from Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar...
It’s a subject that actors would gravitate towards and would be happy to do. One would be interested in working with the co-actors, like Irrfan, Atul (Kulkarni), Chandan (Roy Sanyal) and Shabanaji (Azmi), that I was getting the opportunity to work with. To work with a team of actors in a narrative like this, you know that there’s going to be an incredible commitment and integrity creatively every day. 

That’s fun and inspiring. You know me long enough and you know what I look for. I would grab an opportunity like this. I seek work, which can be creatively satisfying every day, and that happened with Jazbaa. To do this with Sanjay Gupta was a unique, exciting and intriguing combination. It’s nice to be curious and be surprised because one didn’t know how this combination was going to eventually roll out. Jazbaa’s not a predictable narrative. About the mother bit, I knew we were shooting in Mumbai, that’s all I considered.

Did the fact that you would be playing a mother also convince you to accept the part?
No. Yes, I am more equipped to play a mother’s part with my personal experience, but it’s also about being a socially responsible woman. When you see mine and Shabana’s parts and the things that we are talking about in this film… It’s a thriller and it’s also about the goings-on in society and each one’s take on it and what people go through in each given situation. That’s what drew me to the subject. These things need to be spoken about in a variety of films without bracketing them into genres — films for people to see, talk and think about. Thereby, it’s topical and hence, the excitement to do the film. If I was offered this film five years ago as an actress, I would have loved to do it. I would have played a mother according to what I would have imagined it to be and interpreted it according to what Sanjay or the script dictated and take it from there. But today, I know there is the honesty of experience and hence my nuances come from a very real core. We always say for actors experience is the best tool to be equipped with and I recognised that while playing Anuradha Varma in Jazbaa. As a working mother challenged with such a situation, I wouldn’t wish it upon any human being and what she goes through, but yes, being a mother definitely was a plus. Of course, it wasn’t pre-planned in that context.

Did you miss Aaradhya while shooting for Jazbaa?
Interestingly, the way I planned it and today in hindsight, I am so glad that Jazbaa is the movie that I chose because of the pace at which we did the film. As I was doing the film I realised that of course, Sanjay is also a father of a four and two-year-old so there are so many things that could be said unsaid. Also, because of the way we timed our days — when I would ask him if I could start early and come on the sets from home after getting ready as I wanted to drop my daughter off to school every day — he would plan the day accordingly. If there were days he couldn’t plan it, he would ask me to come early. We could work it out and that worked perfectly for me because once I am on the sets I am fully committed to my work. I don’t like bringing my personal life to work or to the director. And with Aaradhya’s growth spurt also, she has very naturally embraced all this so I have found my balance because she has found her balance — of how a working mother works, how her day rolls, how I drop her to school myself. I go for my shoot and then after pickup she joins me so that little drive where she wants to have her nap while travelling... then she’s with me in my trailer. Very often there were day shoots and in the evening she would be with me as we would be going back together. I had arranged for my dinner and home-cooked meals so everything was sorted and we were together throughout the making of the film. I am glad because she is going to be almost four now in November and she’s understood the dynamics of a working mother. And I thank God for that because I hadn’t probably foreseen all this. Every day for me was the first. I have never had kids before, so I don’t know how it’s going to roll out… I am learning every day and obviously trying to commit to giving all of myself every day. That is more important because it’s all still new. I know my professional turf and wrap myself around whatever surprises that situation might give. 

You are like the female Aamir Khan — very selective about scripts — and directors are known to change their scripts for you. Did you get Sanjay Gupta to change his?
It’s wonderful to be able to contribute the way directors have always allowed me to. I have always done that since the beginning and acknowledge that. Most filmmakers till date have given me that liberty, indulged me, allowed me or just accorded me that mutual respect. It is respectful to allow people to share their opinions. It’s wonderful that I have enjoyed that relationship and I have been allowed that opportunity. I will give my creative viewpoint because it’s never about me individually. My opinions will be about everything — script, parts of the story and my directors recognise that. I must admit that Sanjay has been wonderful about it, too. Sanjay has been superlative in allowing for that. Sanjay is also Abhishek’s friend and my husband would jokingly tell him, ‘Gups you have always dealt with guys in testestrone-filled movies and we know the dudes you have been working with,’ but I told Abhishek that I would have an opinion and brainstorm creatively and constantly. So Abhishek would tell me that it would be interesting to see Gups and me on that turf. And after every schedule I would tell Abhishek that you will be surprised. And he would be surprised that there were no fireworks. I said nothing because Gups is open-minded, he has no ego hassles, is totally cool about suggestions, if he sees the sense in it, he’s totally on board and that has been great for Irrfan, Shabanaji and me as everybody has an opinion. The exercise felt natural. 

Your last release was Guzaarish five years ago. Tell us about the Jazbaa journey. What has changed in Bollywood?
I know everybody keeps telling me that so much has changed in these five years, but honestly? This change was already happening. There has been a bigger spurt in social media, a lot more communications and websites, reviews and critics… It’s all more digital, not so much prints, exhibitions have increased a lot more these last years, the kinds of recovering opportunities for films have been immense, so I feel it has creatively liberated filmmakers and writers.

The script is the king…
Yes. It was always was... in our hearts. We wanted and were trying for it, but I guess it’s all cyclic... if the returns allow for it the investors find the confidence to allow the creative people to find their expression. Logically, no film can be a flop because you can the subject make within a controlled budget. Gups said that with Jazbaa we are home because of the way it was planned and the deals made. So, when you know you are secure, you make your subject accordingly. Certain films are expensive because of that genre, but then people will invest accordingly. Today, the BO business is more transparent with the audiences than it used to be. Hence, there’s a larger sense of security and it’s exciting for us all creatively because it just means more subjects and stories can be told. Koi darr nahi. Plan your budget, make it and your film will be a success. The world has opened up so many different territories and markets. With corporatisation people have recognised these opportunities and that has grown at an incredible pace in the last decade and possibly more in the last five years. I have not gone anywhere. I have always been aware of it and I know exactly what’s happening! (Laughs)