"Media should publish better pictures of me" - Tabu
You
are
back
to
your
vanishing
acts,
avoiding
the
media
and
making
minimal
public
appearances?
I'm
bored
of
this
question.
How
was
the
lunch
that
Uma
Thurman
hosted
for
The
Namesake
cast
in
New
York?
That
lunch
has
been
over-hyped.
Ask
Irrfan
Khan.He'll
give
a
more
interesting
answer.
So,
is
this
going
to
be
one
of
those
interviews
again?(Laughs)
You
tell
me?
Ok,
let's
start
again,
shall
we?
After
last
year's
double
whammy
of
Cheeni
Kum
and
The
Namesake,
you
have
signed
a
Telugu
film
Idi
Sangati.
How
do
you
explain
that?
I
can't
sit
at
home
and
wait
for
something
big
to
come
my
way.
I
had
to
choose
from
what
was
offered
to
me
and
Idi
Sangati
made
sense.
The
director
waited
for
two-and-a-half
years
to
make
the
film
with
me.
Also,
it's
a
comedy-a
genre
I've
wanted
to
do
for
a
long
time.
Isn't
doing
a
regional
film
after
The
Namesake,
which
took
you
to
a
global
audience,
a
bit
unsettling?
I
started
out
with
Telugu
films
and
shooting
in
Hyderabad
suits
me.
Since
I'm
not
a
cosmopolitan
city-bred
girl,
doing
a
regional
film
is
not
really
a
departure
for
me.
I
can
relate
to
it.
That's
why
I've
signed
another
Telugu
film,
Panduranga,
directed
by
my
guru,
K
Raghavendra
Rao.
I'm
really
excited
about
it
since
I
play
a
Devdasi-something
I've
never
attempted
before-in
it.
I
didn't
plan
for
this
big
project
though.
Like
everything
else,
this
too
just
fell
in
my
lap.
So,
you
never
plan?
Never.
Planning
doesn't
suit
my
temperament.
I
act
on
instinct
when
I
am
offered
a
film.
What
is
your
most
important
selection
criterion
for
doing
a
film?
Personal
comfort.
I've
become
choosy
about
the
people
I
work
with.
Why
are
you
so
reluctant
to
promote
your
films?
I
feel
fake
saying
all
those
good
things
about
a
film.
I
can't
do
that
unless
I
really
believe
in
a
film.
Which
was
the
one
film
you
really
believed
in
and
liked
promoting?
(Thinks
hard)
Meenaxi:
A
Tale
of
Three
Cities.
I
enjoyed
doing
every
shot
of
the
film.
It
was
like
a
treat.Recently,
there
were
reports
of
you
doing
Deepak
Tijori's
film
in
English,
Zoya
Akhtar's
untitled
project
opposite
Farhan
Akhtar
and
Shoojit
Sircar's
Shoebite
starring
Amitabh
Bachchan.
But
you
have
denied
that
you
are
working
on
these
films.(Sighs)
The
directors
and
I
were
only
in
the
process
of
talking
about
whether
or
not
to
do
the
films.
I
was
never
doing
them.
I
hope
to
find
better
ways
to
deal
with
such
reports.
So
far,
the
only
way
I've
dealt
with
them
is
detaching
myself
from
them
so
that
they
don't
occupy
my
mindspace.To
be
honest,
I'm
unable
to
cope
with
the
media's
intrusion
in
our
lives.
I
can't
handle
"who
wore
what,
who
ate
what,
who
said
what"kind
of
reportage.
I
tell
myself
to
ignore
it.
Even
denying
such
news
would
give
it
undeserved
importance.
I
have
just
two
requests.
I
wish
the
directors
refrain
from
announcing
that
I
am
doing
their
film
until
I
sign
the
contract
and
that
the
media
publishes
better
pictures
of
me.
Fair
enough.
So
what's
the
deal
with
this
sensuous
dance
number
that
you've
done
in
Idi
Sangati?
(Shocked)
Where
did
that
come
from?
It's
not
even
a
dance.
It's
just
a
slow,
sensuous
song.
Ever
want
to
do
an
item
song?
Oh,
yeah.
Why
not?
It'll
be
great.
There
won't
be
any
onus
on
me
in
that
case.
I'll
go
as
a
guest
on
the
sets
and
have
fun.
At
the
Star
Screen
awards,
you
said
Amitabh
Bachchan
made
you
look
good
in
Cheeni
Kum.
Do
you
really
think
so?
Of
course.
It
was
unusual
for
the
two
of
us
to
be
cast
together,
that
too
in
a
romance.
If
we
were
to
do
another
film
together,
the
script
would
have
to
suit
both
of
us.
Do
you
feel
bogged
down
by
the
heavy
roles
that
filmmakers
offer
you?
That's
the
disadvantage
of
being
stereotyped.
On
the
one
hand,
it's
good
to
have
a
type
for
yourself
and
then
it's
up
to
you
to
continue
with
it
or
not.
If
people
feel
I
can
do
heavy
and
emotional
roles
well,
then
I
must
be
convincing.
But
it
has
nothing
to
do
with
who
I
am
as
a
person.
Maybe,
my
face
or
appearance
suits
such
roles.
Physicality
is
the
first
thing
a
viewer
notices
while
judging
an
actor's
performance.
But
all
this
doesn't
bog
me
down.
I
know
I'll
do
a
role
only
if
I
want
to.
Otherwise,
I
say
no.
What
is
that
one
role
that
you
really
want
to
do?
A
waitress
in
an
American
diner
kind
of
setting.
I
like
those
characters.
Any
plans
of
directing
a
film?
Maybe.
I
don't
know.
Not
for
the
next
five
years
though.
If
I
have
a
story
to
tell
or
even
one
line
that
I
want
the
audience
to
know,
I'll
do
it.