Where Did The Maine Pyar Kiya Vamp Go?

‘Even
today,
people
recognise
me
wherever
I
go.
They
come
up
and
say
‘Aap
Maine
Pyar
Kiya
mein
thi,
na?‘

Where
did
the
curly-haired
vamp
with
the
curlicue
smile
disappear
after

Maine
Pyar
Kiya‘s
success?

Dinesh
Raheja
tracks
down

Pervien
Dastur
Irani,
that
rare
actor
who
turned
her
back
ON
films
and
fame.
Decades
later,
she’s
returning
before
the
cameras.

About
bagging
her
first
film,
she
says,
“I
hopped
onto
a
BEST
bus
and
went
to
the
Rajshri
office
wearing
shorts
and
a
shirt,
rubber
chappals
and
my
naturally
curly
hair.
It
was
the
monsoon
so
I
was
drenched
when
I
reached.
I
had
no
aspirations
of
making
it
as
a
Hindi
film
star.
For
me,
it
was
a
joy
ride.”

You
made
quite
an
impression
as
the
negative
lead
in
the
1989
blockbuster

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
but
have
been
under
the
radar
ever
since.

Even
today,
though
my
hair
looks
different,
people
recognise
me
wherever
I
go.
They
come
up
and
say
‘Aap
Maine
Pyar
Kiya
mein
thi,
na?‘

I
think
it’s
going
to
follow
me
to
the
grave.

I
recently
started
work
on
an
OTT
show
and
Director
Kapil
Sharma
told
me,
‘I
always
wanted
to
meet
you
after

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
but
you
just
disappeared
from
the
scene!’

More
on
your
new
project
later.
Let’s
start
with
how
you
were
cast
in

Maine
Pyar
Kiya.

Soorajji
(Barjatya,
the
director
of
Maine
Pyar
Kiya)
had
already
cast
Salman
Khan
and
Bhagyashree
and
was
looking
for
an
actor
to
play
Seema.
I
used
to
do
English
theatre
so
he
came
to
see
one
of
my
shows.

At
that
time,
out
of
the
five
plays
running
in
town,
I
was
part
of
four.

I
really
enjoyed
doing
plays
such
as

Run
For
Your
Wife,
Not
Now
Darling,
Extremities,
The
Imaginary
Invalid,
The
Dining
Room,
Mischief
Mania.

That’s
quite
a
body
of
work.
So
had
you
invited
Sooraj
Barjatya
to
see
your
play?

I
had
no
clue
who
he
was!
Nor
did
he
ever
come
backstage.

I
was
oblivious
till
I
got
an
excited
call
from
my
director
saying
that
the
Rajshris
had
asked
for
my
number
and
it
was
a
fantastic
opportunity!

I
said,
‘Who?’

You
hadn’t
heard
of
the
Rajshris?

No!
So
I
hopped
onto
a
BEST
bus
and
went
to
the
Rajshri
office
wearing
shorts
and
a
shirt,
rubber
chappals
and
my
naturally
curly
hair.
It
was
the
monsoon
so
I
was
drenched
when
I
reached.

Rajkumarji
(Barjatya,
Sooraj’s
father,
producer)
honestly
said,
‘Beta,
we
want
you
for
this
film,
but
if
you
do
this
role,
I
have
to
warn
you
that
you
will
never
be
a
heroine
thereafter.’

I
said,
‘Okay,
no
problem.’

I
had
no
aspirations
of
making
it
as
a
Hindi
film
star.
For
me,
it
was
a
joy
ride.

Did
you
envision
then
that

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
would
be
a
blockbuster?

No.
But
when
my
family
saw
the
film’s
rushes,
my
mom
just
loved
Salman.

She
exclaimed
in
Gujarati,
‘Ketlo
sweet,

ketlo
handsome!’

For
us,
he
was
just
Salman.
I
realised
he
was
going
to
be
big.

Did
you
convey
her
reaction
to
Salman?

I
told
him.
He
was
his
bashful
self.

What
was
your
equation
with
Salman
in
those
days?

We
were
all
good
friends.

My
husband
Shahrukh
was
my
boyfriend
then
and
we
used
to
hang
out
with
Salman,
his
then-girlfriend
Sangeeta
Bijlani
and
Monya
(Mohnish
Behl).

Did
your
friendship
with
Salman
outlast
the
shoot?

Around
five
years
after

Maine
Pyar
Kiya,
I
was
rushing
to
meet
my
mother
who
was
admitted
in
Breach
Candy
hospital.

Suddenly,
my
car
stalled.

Salman
happened
to
be
passing
by
in
a
jeep,
and
he
stopped.
He
was
attracting
a
crowd
but
he
insisted
I
take
his
car
and
driver
while
he
would
get
my
car
repaired.
For
me,
he
was
like
a
blessing.

We
met
once
more
at
Sangeeta
Bijlani
and
Azhar’s
(Mohammad
Azharuddin)
wedding.

I
was
leaving
because
I
was
nine
months
pregnant
and
he
ribbed
me,
saying,
‘You
look
like
a
tent.’

So
you
have
fond
memories
of
Salman?

Whatever
anybody
may
say,
I
think
he
has
a
heart
of
gold.
He
is
very
kind
to
his
staff
and
for
me
that
is
non-negotiable.

What
was
the
brief
that
Sooraj
gave
you?

My
reference
point
was
Nadiraji
in
Raj
Kapoor’s

Shree
420.

Today,
I
would
have
been
more
wicked
in
my
portrayal.
I
would
have
definitely
carried
a
dagger
in
my
vanity
box
(laughs).

When
did
you
realise
the
film
was
a
smash?

When
I
went
shopping
in
Kolkata’s
AC
Market.
Soon
there
was
a
crowd
of
50-60
people
surrounding
me.
As
I
was
escorted
out,
they
were
banging
on
the
car.
It
was
a
little
scary.
But
I
realised
just
how
big
a
hit
it
was.

Yet
you
didn’t
sign
any
film.

I
got
a
lot
of
offers
but
they
were
not
worth
my
while.

I’m
not
sitting
on
a
high
horse
but
people
would
say
‘Ma’am,
you
have
to
wear
a
swimming
costume’
or
‘You
have
to
ride
a
horse.’

When
I
asked
for
the
story,
they
would
shrug,
‘Woh
bata
denge.’

I
would
rather
sit
at
home
than
to
do
something
like
that.

Maybe
you
switched
careers
and
became
an
air
hostess
too
soon.

I
was
fed
up
waiting
for
the
right
roles.
I
had
no
aspirations
of
being
on
every
billboard
in
the
city
or
every
magazine
cover.

I’m
a
workaholic.
I
was
irritated
with
not
working.

So
I
joined
the
sales
department
at
the
Taj
hotel
for
a
year.
Everybody
there
would
say,
‘Oh,
you
were
in

Maine
Pyar
Kiya!’

Then
Mani
Kaulji
cast
me
in

Ahmaq
(The
Idiot)
alongside
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
who
was
not
a
star
then.
I
loved
the
relatable
way
Maniji
worked.

Thereafter,
I
signed

Hum
Hai
Rahi
Pyar
Ke,
which
was
produced
by
Aamir
Khan’s
dad,
Tahir
Hussain.

But
simultaneously,
I
got
a
training
call
from
Air
India.
Tahir
uncle
said,
‘You
have
to
choose
one,

beta.’

I
wanted
to
fly
even
as
a
child,
so
I
decided
I’m
going
to
fly.

Was
it
easy
to
turn
your
back
to
films?

I
did
a
serial

Aarohan
for
Doordarshan
whilst
I
was
flying.
And
a
movie,

Dil
Ke
Jharokon
Se,
but
it
was
a
big
dud.

On
hindsight,
could
you
have
capitalised
on
your
hit
film
differently? 

I
wish
I
could
have
done
more
good
roles.
But
had
I
stuck
around,
I
would
have
had
to
take
on
roles
where
I
was
not
happy.

I
made
my
choice;
no
regrets.

We
have
to
be
happy
finally.
I
am
very
happy
with
my
two
beautiful
children
(Kyra,
28,
and
Genevieve,
24,
have
done
their
master’s
in
Dublin,
Ireland),
my
lovely
husband
and
lovely
house.

You
played
opposite
Naseeruddin
Shah
in

The
Imaginary
Invalid.
What
was
he
like
to
work
with?

One
day,
I
said
I
was
skipping
rehearsals
because
I
couldn’t
leave
my
grandmom
alone
at
home.

He
said,
‘I
will
come
home.’

So
he
came
home
to
rehearse!

It
was
so
funny
to
rehearse
while
my
grandmother
chatted
with
her
friends
in
the
balcony.

After
your
25-year
hiatus,
how
did
Kapil
Kaustubh
Sharma
convince
you
to
face
the
cameras
again?

Kapil
was
looking
to
cast
a
role
in
his
Web
show

Margao
Files
which
has
Zeenat
Aman
and
Pallavi
Joshi.

When
actress
Mahabaoo
Kotwal
suggested
my
name,
his
antennae
went
up:
Where
is
this
girl?

He
reached
out
to
me
saying,
‘Nobody
knew
where
you
had
gone
after

Maine
Pyar
Kiya!’

He
also
offered
my
husband
Shahrukh
a
role.
It’s
good
he
was
around
because
I
was
doing
this
after
a
long
time.

Your
hair
is
silky
straight
today.
Where
are
the
curly
tresses
from

Maine
Pyar
Kiya?

I
can
still
make
it
look
like
it
did
in

Maine
Pyar
Kiya.
But
now
my
hair
is
a
little
tame;
it’s
neater
and
more
age
appropriate.

Now
don’t
ask
me
my
age
(laughs).