Actress Pooja Bhatt confessed she is a foodie. In a freewheeling chat with Shrabasti Mallik, the actor-turned-producer shared her idea of being healthy, her ambitions and why she cast Sreesanth in her next venture
Dressed in black with streaks of green in her hair, Pooja Bhatt looked happy and contented as she moved around the lawns of The Mansion at Hyatt, taking bites from dishes made by the nine finalists of Hyatt Culinary Challenge. “I am a big foodie. Apart from certain meats, I eat almost everything. And being part of this challenge as a judge is a huge honour,” she said with a smile as she tasted the Mediterranean style fish, prepared by the winner Haim levy from Delhi. “I was part of the challenge in Mumbai and I felt great. Plus, the challenge was for a good cause,” she said and added that she felt proud to be part of an endeavour where a child from the Smile Foundation gets to assist the final contestants. “It was nice to see people who are not from the world of hospitality, who are not cooks, donning the apron for a good cause,” said Bhatt.
later she spoke on many topics. Here’s her take.
Who cares about trendsIJ
Crash diets and diets in general is a foolish trend. I think we are focussing on the outside nowadays, nobody cares about the inside anymore. Now, it is all about appearances. Even when I was an actress there was a lot of pressure on dieting but then people were sane. The obsession with size zero was not there. And they forget to realise that when their figures turn to size zero so does their mind. So it is important to me that my mind remains robust and healthy. Besides, I was 10 and a half pounds when I was born. If you are born like that, it is very difficult to become a skinny bean pole. At the end of the day I believe that everybody has their own body type and it has often been said that men like meat while dogs like bones. It should be all about health — mental and physical.
Actress or FilmmakerIJ
I have not acted since Everybody Says I’m Fine because I became a filmmaker and India’s youngest producer at 21. I consider that as a major achievement for someone who is a mainstream actor. I was Alia’s age when I produced my first film Tamanna (1997) and I don’t think Alia will be able to produce a film today. She is a young star but my aspirations were always different. Merely being infront of the camera was not enough for me, my brain wanted more exercise. So I enjoy making movies, creating new stars and putting a film together. That gives a satisfaction far greater than just being a star. I got a lot to do at a pretty young age some of which was emotionally very challenging. I did not do any fluff. Acting is not easy and I had the privilege of working in some fine films by my father. My father was a terrible taskmaster. Who remembers how much you were pushed or shoved, what you see is what’s on screen. I guess everything that I have been through and experienced is all worth it. When you have that body of work, what do you do nextIJ It’s a general instinct to shift, bend the cameras.
Casting sreesanth
I cast Sreesanth in my forthcoming film Cabaret because I have a role in the film which requires a man to be a mentor to the character of Richa Chadda, who is a dancer. One choice was to take an older person, somebody senior. The general conception of a mentor is of somebody who looks experienced and elderly. But I feel that being a mentor is not about age, it is about life experiences. If you look at a man like Sreesanth, he has seen unimaginable highs and lows. He has been to hell and back. Now, he is like a wounded tiger. He wants to prove to the world that there is something in him that is beyond what has been projected. I feel when someone is down and looking for a way to prove himself, we should provide him a platform and that’s what I am doing.
I met him after two years on the eve of his birthday and found him fit for the role. He will be playing a Malayali character, which he is, who is based in Dubai. I have even asked him to retain his Malayali accent and have based the movie on him. It was his persona that appealed to me. like when I cast Suhel Seth in Rog, I cast him for his persona. You cannot cast Suhel Seth and ask him to be quiet. I think out of the box casting is what I have always done. Sreesanth is a performer — we have seen him dance and he loves the camera. He is a changed man now and I believe he has a lot to prove. Casting him was an instinctive decision and I am happy with it.
photos Sanjeev Kumar