Mani Ratnam promised to cast me soon

Says Madhoo who made a comeback to movies with ‘Anthaku Mundu Aa Taruvatha’ after a hiatus of over 15 years. The ‘Roja’ girl says she now wants to play a jealous wife, a murderer or someone evil to wipe off her ‘sweet girl’ image

My in-laws are not into films and they were not so keen that I leave Mumbai to go to a new place and stay there for weeks. But I was sure that I wanted to come back to movies, the only medium where I could have improved. I would have got lost in a new field

Nagaraj Goud

She has once set the screen on fire with her scintillating performances in films like ‘Roja’, ‘Gentleman’, and ‘Allari Priyudu’. And after a hiatus of more than 15 years, she is back with a bang as a modern, thinking woman in ‘Anthaku Mundu Aa Taruvatha’ (AMAT) and she continues to find admirers. Yes, we are talking about Madhubala, aka Madhoo. Ecstatic with the response to her character, the actress, who doesn’t shy away to admit that she is yet to watch the flick, says she couldn’t have asked for a better comeback. “I wanted to comeback but never imagined it would be through Telugu films. It’s a proud comeback and I thoroughly enjoyed it though I’ve shot for just seven days,” exclaims Madhoo, at the disc function of the flick in Hyderabad on Thursday evening.

She says that she never had the luxury of saying hi to Telugu people. “I never had a press meet for my any of my films in the past. Except for issuing out some clarifications, I’ve never spoke to the audience directly.”

Speaking about her role, she says, “I play a mother who doesn’t like to be dressed to look like one. The character is of an ambitious woman who knows what she wants and is keen to fulfill them. Times have changed and mother is not the same as the ones that were portrayed till a few decades in films. My role was close to my heart, as I too, was waiting to give another shot at acting. I loved enacting the TV sequences the most (laughs out loudly). I’ve shot for my portions thinking that the film centres on me.”

Recalling how the crew treated her with utmost respect she says, “I’ve asked myself whether I deserve the amount of respect they gave me. I left the industry as an artiste and came back as a senior artiste. I had attained a sweet image, and it’s still that way I suppose. During my school days I was a naughty kid and was referred to as Pao (sweet girl in Tamil). Though I was once caught for a prank along with my friends, my principal let go off me seeing my innocent face. So I want to play negative roles as I have this intense desire to be a jealous wife, a murderer or do something very evil.”

When quizzed about her svelte figure, she says, “This is the best thing that I can hear. For a female artiste ageing is the most fearful thing, so we must ensure that we look glamorous all the time.”

She had a lot of convincing to do before her family said yes to her re-entry into movies. “My in-laws are not into films and they were not so keen that I leave Mumbai to go to a new place and stay there for weeks. But I was sure that I wanted to come back to movies, the only medium where I could have improved. I would have got lost in a new field. I’ve started doing theatre recently and my whole family happened to see one such play and they were happy,” she says proudly.

Even before ‘AMAT’, she was hoping that Mani Ratnam would make ‘Roja 2’. “I’ve expressed my desire verbally and in writing to him. He’s promised to give me one,” she smiles.