The party is on. And Amisha Patel is living it up. Gadar has inflated her scrips beyond imagination. She's blazing hot right now.
For someone who was sidetracked in her debut movie, Kaho Na..Pyaar Hai, it's a miraculous comeback of sorts. At Nagi Villa where she's shooting for Rahe Na Rahe Hum, Amisha points out a news item which says that a woman in Punjab killed herself because her husband couldn't get her tickets for Gadar.
"The movie is still going strong," AP unspools. It's supposed to have broken several records. The success of Lagaan and Gadar has proved that the audience is ready to accept unusual subjects.
"I was fully dressed throughout the movie. Only my face is seen. Still I was appreciated. That just shows that the audience has liked my work."
The actress remembers how trade pundits had warned her against accepting Gadar. "They wondered why I was doing a film with Sunny Deol," she smiles smugly like a cheshire cat. "They also said playing a mother to a five-year-old kid would harm my career. They laughed that Zee TV would end up making a serial. They sniggered when I said that Gadar would be a huge hit. I had firm faith in the movie. Now, I'm having the last laugh."
Amisha points out that the movie has established her as an actress of substance. "I was lucky to get such a fantastic role in my second film. Generally, actors have to wait for ten years for such a role. I'd signed Gadar and even shot 20 per cent of it before Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai. I've been appreciated tremendously in the scenes which were shot before Kaho Naa... That reinstates my faith in myself."
Of course, the filmwallahs attitude has changed overnight. "Earlier, I was a popular starBut I was a part of the winning enclosure," she assesses. "Hrithik walked away with all the praise for Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai. Now I'm being recognised for myself. Now I've even started getting my due credit for the success of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. People have become more courteous. Suddenly I'm being treated like the most important person on the sets."

If Pakistanis have loved Gadar, why are Indians objecting to it?

Amisha has notched up a hit in Telugu as well: Badri opposite Pawan Kalyan has toted tremendous business. "Ha!" she exclaims. Now I'm being called a lucky charm. That's scary too. I hope the audience realises that I won't always get such fantastic, author- backed roles. I'll have to do those candy-floss type of movies to survive in this business."
Placing her bets on Tanuja Chandra's Zindagi Ka Safar and Vikram Bhatt's Aap Mujhe Achhe Lagne Lage, she proclaims, "My judgement has been bang-on. I did Kaho Naa... despite warnings from the trade types. I signed Aap Mujhe Achhe Lagne Lage with Hrithik long before he became a superstar. I did Badri on a pure hunch. Even during Gadar, I was told that a heroine has nothing to do in a Sunny Deol movie. Anil Sharma had been written off. Today, everyone has received a second lease of life with Gadar."
As she awaits the director's call, Amisha recalls the hard work she put into the character of Sakina. Apparently, she boned up on the Partition. "I also read books on Islam. I took Urdu lessons," she says. "I couldn't afford to go wrong with my accent or mannerisms. We took great care over my clothes and make-up. Each colour and fabric had to reflect that era. There was so much detailing, it blew my mind. So I'm thrilled when people call me Sakina."
Ask her if the controversies which engulfed the film have marred the taste of success and she responds, "I don't see anything objectionable in Gadar at all. It propagates love. I've received calls from Lahore, saying how much they've loved the film. Women have called to say that they'll name their daughter Sakina. If Pakistanis have loved the film, why are we Indians objecting to it?
"So many ridiculous statements have been made by some people without even seeing the film. It was said that Sunny Deol shouts Hindustani murdabad. Which is utter nonsense. Yet another said that I read the Koran with sindoor in my maang. Again that's not true at all. Because my forehead was covered. There's no way anyone could see sindoor on my forehead. Anyway, the controversy has abated. Thank God."
The director summons. She's back within minutes. Picking up the thread of our conversation, she says, "All the credit Kaho Naa... went to Hrithik. No one gave me my dues. Once Madhuri Dixit was also laughed at. But she didn't allow anyone to discourage. She really slogged. That's why she's so humble and well-behaved. Madhuri is my ideal. I want to be like her. "
She believes it's extremely difficult for an outsider to find a foothold in showbiz. "No one wants to touch you, if you don't have a film background. Which is why outsiders like me have to work doubly hard to get noticed. The general attitude is she is so-and-so's daughter or grand-daughter, so let's take her. That's why it was imperative for me to succeeed. I feel vindicated."
"I know some heroines have made nasty statements about me," she says bitingly. "But I kept my cool. I didn't want to stoop to their level. Now all that bitching and backbiting don't matter." Tell her that the media is pitting her against Kareena Kapoor and she shrugs, "Why single Kareena out. I'm competing with every heroine, of the past as well as the present. I say `past' heroines because the general belief is that aaj kal ki heroines mein purani heroines jaisi baat nahin hai. I want to prove them wrong. And I think every present-day heroine is my competitor. After all, we're competing for the same roles."
Needless to say, the actress has been bombarded with offers these days. Insists she, "Every film that is being launched nowadays was offered to me first. I've refused nearly all of them, even if I want to, I can't do all the movies being made." Uh huh... has success gone to her head? She laughs, "It hasn't even sunk in. If success had gone to my head, I wouldn't be sitting and giggling with you. I'd have given you a quote and shooed you away."

I respect Sunny. But there's nothing on between us

What about those stories then, of her "high-handeded" behaviour? Apparently Satish Kaushik is upset with her for walking out of Badhai Ho Badhai. "See, it wasn't my fault," she frowns. "Karisma walked out of the movie, all the dates were shuffled when Shilpa Shetty walked in. I didn't have the dates they wanted. I had to complete Gadar. So I opted out."
Amisha also stumped out of Sanjay Chhel's Yahoo. Blaming that on her date diary she argues, "Anyway, nothing had been finalised. There were a lot of combination dates involed with the child stars in the movie. But I'd already allotted those dates to Tanuja Chandra's Zindagi Ka Safar."
Raise the topic of her alleged liaison with Sunny Deol and she bursts out laughing. "How can anyone even think like that? I respect Sunny a lot. He's a gentleman. We get along famously. But please there's nothing on between us."
And what about the news that she's getting engaged to her producer-friend Rohit Kumar? "Rubbish!" she shrieks. "I'm not getting engaged to Rohit or anyone. My parents would be happy to see me settled. But there's plenty of time. I've just tasted success. Let me enjoy it."
She retouches her make-up. "Success can make you so lonely," she sighs. "It was so much easier just being papa's pet. Dealing with quite a few of the film people can be difficult. Most of them have ulterior motives. But I can't be rude to people even though I can see through them."
To wind up, she says, "I've no skeletons in my cupboard. I sleep well at nights because I have a clear conscience. I've led a dignified life, I always will. When I write my biography, I don't want to feel ashamed of even one day in my life."

Anuradha Choudhary