‘I’ve
always
connected
better
with
older
people,
be
it
men
or
women.’
Kiran
Joneja
with
Ramesh
Sippy.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Kiran
Joneja/Instagram
Kiran
Joneja,
known
for
starring
in
iconic
shows
like
Buniyaad
and
Mahabharat,
has
largely
remained
away
from
the
spotlight.
But
she
opened
up
about
her
personal
life
and
her
marriage
with
Buniyaad
Director
Ramesh
Sippy
in
a
conversation
with
Lehren
TV.
She
also
cleared
allegations
of
being
a
home-breaker.
‘I
would
have
felt
that
way
if
I
was
a
home-breaker.
I
already
knew
what
the
situation
was.
It
was
not
like
I
broke
a
home,’
she
said
in
the
interview.
Kiran
married
Ramesh
Sippy
in
1991,
when
she
was
27
and
he
was
44.
Before
marrying
her,
Ramesh
was
married
to
Geeta
Sippy
with
whom
he
had
three
children,
Rohan,
Sonya
and
Sheena.
Besides
Sholay
and
Buniyaad,
Sippy
also
directed
Andaz,
Seeta
Aur
Geeta,
Shaan
and
Shakti.
‘It
wasn’t
love
at
first
sight,’
Kiran
explained
about
her
love
story.
‘I
didn’t
even
know
how
big
he
was.
I
wasn’t
in
awe
of
him
when
we
met.
That
only
came
later
when
I
began
working
with
him.
I
saw
how
people
respected
him,
how
they
touched
his
feet,
how
they
were
almost
afraid
of
him.
That’s
when
I
realised
he
was
someone
really
important
in
the
(film)
industry.’
Despite
a
significant
age
gap
between
them,
Joneja
said
their
connection
was
natural.
‘He
was
much
older,
but
I
didn’t
face
any
problems
with
that.
I’ve
always
connected
better
with
older
people,
be
it
men
or
women.
I
don’t
know
why.
Maybe
I
was
just
too
mature
for
my
age.
With
boys
my
age,
there
was
just
no
tuning,’
she
said.
During
the
interview,
Joneja
also
reflected
about
the
challenges
she
faced
in
the
entertainment
industry
following
her
early
success.
After
appearing
in
major
television
serials,
Kiran
was
suddenly
offered
‘mother’
roles
often
to
actors
much
older
than
her.
‘I
started
getting
mother
roles
after
Buniyaad
and
Mahabharat.
I
was
like,
‘How
can
I
play
a
mother
to
someone
who’s
10
or
15
years
older
than
me?’
But
that’s
what
happened.
My
buniyad
(foundation)
as
an
actor
started
and
ended
right
there.’
Sholay
will
celebrate
its
50th
anniversary
on
August
15,
but
Kiran
remains
tight-lipped
about
the
plans.
‘There
are
a
lot
of
plans,
but
we
don’t
want
to
talk
about
them
yet.
It’s
too
early,
August
is
still
far
away.
Closer
to
the
time,
we’ll
be
doing
something,’
she
says.
Photograph
curated
by
Manisha
Kotian/Rediff
