Few actors can boast the longevity and continued relevance that Farida Jalal has enjoyed, remaining one of the industry’s most enduring and active performers.
A testament to this is her latest film, Welcome to the Jungle, in which she plays Badi Bi, who speaks incoherently. Yet, the audience has not stopped showering love on the character.
“God’s kind! Everyone has been saying great things. Compliments are flowing in from all quarters. This is our reward as actors,” says Jalal, recalling how the character was fleshed out.
“Akshay (Kumar, actor), Ahmad (Khan, director) and I were all sitting together when Akshay got a call. This girl on the other end kept jabbering away. After the call, Akshay said, ‘Let’s have you do something similar in the film. Everyone knows you for your perfect dialogue delivery, pronunciation, diction, etc. Let’s give you this character now.’ And I thought, ‘Okay, let’s give it a shot.’ And now everyone has only great things to say!” says the 77-year-old.
A film that is a laugh riot was just as much fun on set, shares Farida. “It was one royal picnic. All of us had a blast. Everyone was so much fun and took care of each other. The film has been made with so much love, happiness and hard work. Akshay and Ahmad really looked after everyone,” recalls Farida, adding that despite a gruelling first schedule, they all laughed together all the time.
“Our first schedule was in the unforgiving summer heat. I remember there were advisories asking people to stay indoors, and there we were, shooting under the scorching sun. I said to Raveena (Tandon, actor), people think an actor’s job is all glamorous, but this is how we earn our bread. It is a lot of hard work,” she shares.
And the film’s success only adds to the gratitude she feels for her career. “It has been so fulfilling. What more can one ask for? The world still remembers my first film, Aradhana (1969). I have only received love and appreciation from people. They come to me, hold my hands and share how my character impacted them or their lives. It’s rewarding. If God asked me, I’d say that in my next lives too, I’d want the same life, the same career. It has been very rewarding” she says, with her signature ring in her voice.
Yet, in this fulfilling and long career, there is one wish she still has. “If you ask an actor who is out there to do whatever she can, many times I felt I was boxed in or slotted as a mother figure. I wanted to play characters with a different gait, a different posture, a different body language. I wanted to play challenging roles… Make me a lawyer, a doctor, something unexpected. Nobody has really touched that side of me at all. Hardly anyone has seen what I can really do, what I am capable of….
I am not the kind of person who goes out and asks for work. So yes, there is a slight pain there. Sometimes I feel I am repeating the lines as well,” says Jalal.
“So, I do want to play different shades and characters. Let me show you what I am capable of. You don’t know what I can do! Give me a negative role, let me surprise you,” shares Jalal in her signature melodious voice.