Courtesy: IndiaFM
Friday, August 19, 2005

Where has the lovable Anna been? Strangely her first film was her last, courtesy, marriage and her Europe yatra. But thankfully Suchitra is back and she promises a stellar something for you in My Wife's Murder. What is that? Besides, will she return to music? Will she make Mumbai her base or is it just a stopover?

All this and more, from the horse's mouth...

Where have you been?

"This is the only thing people have asked me since I have touched Mumbai" she says looking amused. "Well, it's not been like I have sitting around dwindling my thumbs. There is a lot that has happened to me since Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. I released 5 albums after that, got married, I am a mother now. Besides which, I travelled a lot, I am into writing poetry too. Also, I will be soon holding a painting exhibition of my own. Just because I am not smiling from a heater poster, doesn't mean I have turned a no-gooder"

Your big comeback...

I am again very amused when people tout this as my 'comeback'. It just so happened that I had grown tired of jet-setting with Shekhar everywhere and decided that I now wanted to do something of mine. That's when I decided to return to Mumbai. Couching around got the better off me, so I decided that I wanted to get back to acting. Then one day, Ramu got in touch with me and asked me if I liked to be a part of his project. I went through the script and immediately okayed it. And here I am.

"My performance is worth watching!"

Yeah, it might be a little vain brain of me to say that but then I am very excited about the role. I play Shiela, she is this angst-ridden, stressed out hysterical house wife who keeps nagging her husband. The film shows a middleclass household and what happens when boredom creeps into a marriage. It brews to a point when he wishes she were dead and then suddenly one day she is found dead. That puts the film in motion. I loved playing the role because there was a lot of identity to it. Infact Anil and I used to discuss our respective marriages on the sets. The experience has been nothing short of fantastic!

Any jitters while shooting?

See, it was a very young unit and the entire atmosphere on the sets was very democratic. Nobody once threw around any weight nor did anybody try to intimidate the second. The entire mood on the sets was very relaxed and casual. So I in turn didn't feel conscious about the fact that here I was applying makeup and facing the arclights after a hiatus. Jiji is a fabulous director and Anil was very supportive. Boman and Nandana were a complete delight. Sorry to disappoint you, but no, the team gave me no grief.

Cap that controversy!

I think the entire ruckus is completely avoidable. It all started with the film's tagline that said, 'Have you ever wished that your wife were dead?' and the women organizations said that the slogan was hateful towards women and in bad taste. But I as a woman would like to tell these organizations that nothing derogatory was intended. It was just an expression which was used to underline the cold marriage that the two characters were sharing.

I know of instances when couples are in a bitter fight and a fleeting thought occurs to the spouse, 'God, I just want to kill her'. But that doesn't mean that the next moment you are going to strangle your wife. It's the exact same. Besides, I as an artist would not be associated with something that is ridden in malice. For people who aren't convinced yet, come & talk to me.

I am surprised when people call me Anna!

...I truly am. Not that it doesn't gladden me, it does put a smile on my face. But I suddenly feel very shy of it. Am I packing my bags for London? No, not at all, I am going to be in Mumbai. But I am no more the young 20-year old I used to be, I now have a family, so I will work have to work my career around it. So, it won't be like I am going to have a Friday release every week, but yes, I would love to work with good filmmakers. But for now, it's only My Wife's Murder...

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