“Did you see the film? Did you like me?” This is not a query from a debutant. But from a celebrated actor who quit the industry at the peak of her career, returned in supporting roles and is now cherishing the role of a lifetime. Madhoo or Madhubala, as the South Indian audience knows her, is having her moment as her new movie Chinna Chinna Aasai is being loved by the audience.

The actor with some of the biggest hits in Indian cinema in multiple languages – Phool Aur Kaante, Roja, Gentleman, Yodha, Diljale etc – is elated about the response to the film. 

Chinna Chinna Aasai, directed by debutant Varsha Vasudev, tenderly explores how companionship blooms between her character, Leela, a widow from Thanjavur, and Madhavan (Indrans), a retired teacher from Kerala, in Varanasi. Leela is there with a group of tourists, while Madhavan, a single father, is a frequent visitor since his daughter is learning Kathak in the city. When the brooding, gloomy Leela is separated from the tourist group, the affable and friendly Madhavan, comes to her help. They talk, rather Madhavan makes her talk, and his innocence and kindness win her over; a lot is said over silences and smiles and we see a poignant love story in the making.

Speaking to us from Mumbai, Madhoo says that she had almost said no to the project. “Ever since I returned to acting, I was waiting for a role that tapped my potential, preferably from an established director and backed by a big production house. But there arrives Varsha, looking like a college girl, with the jhola, all alone to meet me in Thiruvananthapuram when I had come down for an event. She told me the story over a few breaks I got. I listened, exchanged pleasantries and left, without making any commitment. I thought she would not get a producer. However, I liked her a lot. And then she came to Mumbai, again on her own, to do a full narration. I loved the story and said yes. Then she hugged me and said, ‘I am giving you my Leela’.”

But the story does not end there, the actor adds. Varsha wanted to shoot it in Varanasi during November-December. However, they couldn’t start on the said dates and so Madhoo decided to back out. “I was shooting for my Telugu film. More than that, December has always been family holiday time for me with my children, brother and family coming down from abroad. Varsha couldn’t postpone shoot to January since Kumbh Mela was around. Neither could she wait for another year because she might lose her producer. When I told her to go ahead with another actor, she stressed that the movie cannot happen without me. She in fact named it Chinna Chinna Aasai because of me. She was almost in tears and that’s when I had a word with my family. They were so supportive that all of them changed their travel schedules and I went off to shoot in Varanasi. This film was meant to happen!”

She continues, “I didn’t hear anything from them for several months. I thought that they were struggling to release it and so I had little hope of seeing it in theatres. But the film ended up being distributed by one of the biggest banners (Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films).”

Becoming Leela

The actor observes that becoming Leela was an organic process. “There are some characters that start living with you. I didn’t do any homework or planning. I didn’t realise when she transformed from an unhappy soul to the one who starts smiling and opening up about her dreams and loneliness. Perhaps, Leela knew how to be like that,” she says, adding, “You cannot explain certain things when it comes to acting. For example, when everyone talks about my performance in Roja, the reality is I was irritated and unhappy most of the time because of the odd hours of the shoot and the cold weather. There is a scene where I am called to identify a dead body after my husband [Arvind Swamy] is kidnapped. They woke me up for the shot when I was sleeping in the car. It is the angry, half-sleepy me who ended up giving what people now call one of the best shots in the film!”

It might sound preposterous when she says that she had never heard about Indrans until Varsha told her. “I have not been watching Malayalam movies and didn’t know who he was until Varsha said he is a national award winner. And then I meet this shy person. We couldn’t even converse well because of the language barrier. But soon I realised how great an actor he is. He lived the character and I learnt a lot from him.”

Madhoo has also dubbed for the character. “My voice has been my strength and so I prefer to dub for all my films.”

The actor is all praise for her director, whom she calls “a boss lady — hardworking, fearless and focussed like a horse.” She adds, “You might have seen her all nervous and shy during the promotions. But she never hesitated to get what she wanted from her actors. We couldn’t brush her off as a debutant. She had so much clarity and didn’t hesitate to get the shot she wanted, even from us seniors. We all respected her for that.”

She is also in praise of the whole team. “They came together so well. I also believe Govind Vasantha sir’s music is nothing short of a hero in the film.”

Leela was as special as Varanasi, says the actor who is in her late 50s. “It was my first visit to Varanasi and it eventually became a spiritual trip. We didn’t have the best of facilities. Yet I enjoyed every moment I spent there. The experience is unforgettable,” she stresses.

When asked to compare her experience of working with male and female filmmakers, Madhoo says that she does not believe in making that distinction. “It is all about one’s talent and the script. For me, Varsha is a director, not a woman director.”

Before signing off, the actor quickly mentions her connect with Mammootty’s family. “I made my debut with Mammootty sir in Azhagan (1991); I returned after a break in Tamil with Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014) along with Dulquer Salmaan and now I have worked in a film distributed by Dulquer.”