FILM INTERVIEW: HEMA MALINI

The film’s release may be slightly delayed, but no amount of time passed will dampen the memories Hema Malini created while holding the bullhorn on the set of Tell Me Oh Khuda, which coincidentally stars her husband, Dharmendra, and daughter, Esha Deol. A family affair of near epic proportions, the trio of actors and filmmakers are essentially Bollywood royalty. The only question is whether the chemistry experienced between Hema Malini and Dharmendra in films such as Sholay, Pratigya, Razia Sultan, and Seeta Aur Geeta will be found again in Tell Me Oh Khuda.

 

Time will tell whether the magic between an off-screen Hema Malini and an on-screen Dharmendra (with their offspring Esha Deol thrown in the mix for good measure) will translate into multiplexes. However, Hema Malini, who took the director’s chair for the first time since the 1992 film Dil Aashna Hai starring Shah Rukh Khan and Dibya Bharti, told the press it was not easy barking instructions at her husband.

 

“Directing Dharamji was superb. In the beginning, however, he did not listen to me. He used to ask me, ‘What is this, what is that?’ Then I used to tell him that I want it like this, so just do it,” she informed the media. “He realized I knew the job and then left it entirely to me. He didn’t interfere at all after that.”

 

Thankfully, Dharmendra is keeping his chef’s hat out of the kitchen, as his wife apparently has her hands full dealing with the postponement of the film’s release. At least the story of Tell Me Oh Khuda is one Hema Malini believes in, making the drama of directing and the wait for its release well worth it for her.

 

“I’m very excited about my film. It’s a very interesting story of a girl’s passionate quest to know her origins,” Hema Malini told the press. “The film might get delayed a little bit because of the whole process of change in directors, but I’m trying to release it latest by March.”

 

Tell Me Oh Khuda was originally scheduled for a release on New Year’s weekend; however, the film is still in post-production, and it will take at least another two weeks to get through that process. Adding to the delay was the fact that Hema Malini took over the directorial reigns from Mayur Puri during production.

 

Also starring Arjan Bajwa, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Vinod Khanna, and Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini took note of the film’s other unique star--her daughter. Working with Esha Deol on set is not at all easy, primarily because it is impossible for anyone or everyone not to notice they are mother and daughter.

 

“We have a different relationship on the sets, but still we are mother and daughter, so that does come across. After every scene, she used to ask me if it was okay or not,” Hema Malini told the press. “It was really a pleasure directing her, and the whole process was very sweet.”

 

Answering tough questions with ease about how she works on set with her immediate family, it is worthy to note that Hema Malini is no stranger to pressure, as she is also producing the television show Maati Ki Banno. While it is her first television production in eight years (much like Tell Me Oh Khuda was her first directorial venture in 18 years), the producer of shows such as Nupur, Women of India, Aap Ki Saheli, Songti, and Umberta has really mastered the art of entertaining others on both the small and big screens.

 

Through it all, she manages to also make time for her family, even off set.

 

“You need to take out time for everything. If you want to, you can manage things, and that’s what I do. I’m very happy with whatever I have done in the past and whatever I am doing now,” the 62-year-old actor-director-producer told the press. “Yes, there are times when I feel like going away to some place for some time, doing just nothing. However, that’s just a momentary thing because we are creative people, and we can’t sit without doing anything for long.”

 

Likewise, the fans of Bollywood’s biggest names, such as Hema Malini, Dharmendra, and Rishi Kapoor, cannot sit around too long waiting for Tell Me Oh Khuda to be released. While a January release seems to be out of the question and a March release has been whispered to the public by Hema Malini and others, perhaps fans of yesteryear’s Hindi cinema will not have to wait too long for the stars of old (and new) to reappear on screen together.