Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You look as evergreen and beautiful as always – what comprises your daily skin and hair care routine? 5 must-do’s when it comes to taking care of your body? One favorite beauty tip?
Ms. Juhi Chawla:
I recently suffered the most frightening chemical reaction on my scalp/ face & learnt a harsh lesson… I embraced the best beauty kit ever comprising of turmeric, ghee, almond oil, coconut oil, baking soda… I have taken the organic route & use DIY face & hair masks. My haircare routine comprises of…believe it or not, its Oiling my hair.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You made a full-fledged comeback in 2014 with the heavily hyped woman-centric ‘Gulaab Gang’ and eventually won the prestigious Best Actress award at the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards ceremony for your performance. How was your experience doing this film where you played a very challenging role? How did you prepare for the role of the “villain”?
Ms. Juhi Chawla:
I have done some lovely performances in a lot of films, but always in the space of goody, funny, romantic, sweet and emotional, but the one which stands out for me is Gulab Gang! It was a totally dark role, and which I had a great time working on! It turned out so fantastic that even I was very impressed!
It was a challenge, earlier when I started out I did have my apprehension about.. that would people believe me doing that role because I always am known to play cute and have a sweet, nice image… so I was worried about would people believe me when I play a negative role and it does happen that bad one does lose in the end. I came to terms with that..and at the end Madhuri going to have an upper hand but I fought with the battle inside my head but once my head was clear, I knew that the goal is very exciting & I did it with a lot of enthusiasm. I had a great time.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Looking back at all bygone years, how would you like to define your experience being a part of the Indian Film Industry? Also, do you feel the industry is now changing for good especially for women?
Ms. Juhi Chawla:
We remember more the recent events than things that have happened a little further. Let me take you down the memory lane. There have always been every year, 1-2 films which were female oriented, not just in the past 5-6 years but I think through all the years of the industry, otherwise why do you think you remember actresses like Tabu, she did Astitva & few others that got her recognized as a serious actress. Then you had Sriji who did a films which were a little off-beat, you loved her in those, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, they became because you liked them in commercial films but you also liked them in films which were heroine oriented subjects. Madhuri had done a Mrutyudand & that is why suddenly you took her more seriously, inspite of all the Dhak -dhak & all the naach-gaana there were films which made her a serious actor, for me there was My brother Nikhil, Teen Deeware, even a Jhankaar Beats which was off-beat & a little different, gave me that recognition of being a good actress. We all had our time & we all gave such 1-2 films which stood out from amongst the crowd.