Raveena Tandon : Bollywood Star (India)

Raveena Tandon: Biography

My parents are the best parents in the world. So I had a great childhood. They've never discriminated between my brother and me. Everything that Rajiv got, I got too. Everything that he was allowed to do I was allowed too. I was a fat child, really fat. I loved eating. And I grew into a really fat podgy teenager.

Being the daughter of a film director (Ravi Tandon), we used to go on outdoor shoots with dad during holidays. My dad was very smart, he used to keep his outdoors only when we had our vacations. Then Amitji, Chintuji, Neetuji all used to come over to our house because they were dad's friends. So I had a really different childhood because I used to meet all the stars all the time. What was not so normal for the other kids was normal for us Rajiv and me. We used to be at parties with them. But I never used to show off. I was quite a normal kid, a li'l shy, yes.

I was always my brother's chamchi. I was forever playing football with the guys. I was always a tomboy, so I enjoyed the company of boys more than girls who struck me as sissies. I'd whistle like a ruffian, climb walls and trees and play all boyish games instead of playing with dolls.

I remember there was this lady in the building who came and told me, "Tum abhi badi ho gayi ho. It doesn't look good for you to be hanging out with the boys all the time." I went and told my mother. She told me, "Don't worry, beta, do your own thing." Even my dad always treated both my brother and me equally. So I used to constantly stick to Rajiv's side. If I had to go out in the night, I was only allowed to go with Rajiv. My brother and I are best friends. We simply love each other's company.

Dad used to encourage us to participate in extra-curricular activities in school and I used to get selected for all the school programmes. I would be so happy to be on stage but later on I grew a little older, I realised that it was probably only because of the fact that dad used to take an interest. Also perhaps because it was easy for us to supply costumes and props for all the kids in the shows. But it was fun all the same.

Sundays were special days because no matter how busy dad was during the week, he would devote his Sundays to us. We used to go on picnics regularly - to the beach, or drive out to hill stations. My mom and dad have always been there, they brought us up with a solid foundation, a very down-to-earth approach to life.

You now come to think of it, I was a very shy, reserved kid. Very unlike what I am now I guess my metamorphosis took place when I joined the ad world. I worked in Genesis an agency as a production person. I used to get along very well with Prahlad Kakkar. He was like, "Why don't you join our agency and learn?" So I joined the agency because I was always interested in direction and production.

Honestly speaking, my real metamorphosis from a fat gawky teenager to a confident beautiful one took place because of a particular incident. I had a crush on my brother's best friend when I was in the eight standard. He used to always call me "Moti, moti". I had this friend called Sonal, I remember I told her, "I'll become so slim that one day he will come and ask me for a date." That was my incentive to lose weight. And eventually, that guy went off to a boarding school to study and all. When he came back, he asked me out for a date. That was my first victory. The only tragedy was that by then, I was three inches taller than him.

After I finished school, I joined Mithibai College. I used to be the only girl who used to drive a jeep to college. I had a solid group of friends in college. My life took a different turn when I got a call from photographer Shantanu Sheorey's office. This lady called Uma spoke to me to tell me that they had scouted around colleges for a beautiful face and my face fit the bill. Apparently they'd heard from people that I was pretty and stuff like that. She asked me if I would like to model. And I was like, "What? Modelling and me?"

I used to get lot of film offers. Farokh was making Fateh, he had approached me, then there was H S Rawail. Sunju (Sunjay Dutt) and Rahul Rawail were making this film called Jungle then. I was offered that film too but I was not interested in joining films then. Maybe I was not sure about what I wanted to do. I kept saying no to all the offers. And then came Maine Pyar Kiya, which was a huge hit. Salman Khan was a big hearththrob…and there was Mr G P Sippy who offered me a film with Salman. More than me, it was my college friends who were excited. They were like, "Please, do this film. We want to meet Salman.

And that's how I started. And believe me, more than me being excited about my shooting, it was my long line of friends who were excited about being on the sets with Salman. I signed Patthar Ke Phool and there was no looking back after that. Patthar Ke Phool was a big roller coaster ride for me. At that time, Salman and I never used to get along. For some reason, we just didn't hit it off well. We would be constantly fighting like cats and dogs over silly li'l things like chewing gum! Today both of us are good friends, but at that time, it seemed like a major problem.

When the film was released, I was majorly appreciated. It was a big high for me. There were things like the earrings that I'd worn in the film, which became a rage. Those hoops which I used to wear came to be known as Raveena rings. I won the best debut award for Patthar Ke Phool and I was on a roll. The offers were always pouring in.

I had my first brush with controversy when this article appeared on me which called me a pathological liar. I couldn't handle it. I mean, I had to pay a price for being honest. I used to say things without realising that people would use it against me. I never did anything deliberately. Then some of my films didn't do well and people started calling me a jinx. It was terrible. I couldn't figure out why people were singling me out for the label. I wasn't the only star giving flops. Thankfully, Mohra happened and things changed for the better.

Looking back, I feel Akshay and I should have never got engaged. We shared a good rapport when we were working. We were good friends and we should have let the friendship be. Initially, when we started seeing each other, I was led to believe that it would affect Akshay's career if we spoke about our relationship. So I kept quiet.

But it was upsetting for me when he used to say things like, "I don't love Raveena." I didn't create a scene because I wanted to make our relationship work. I even signed stupid films like Daava for Akshay, because he said, "Ravs, do it, we'll get to spend more time together." I was set to leave the industry. I said no to so many big projects. Virasat, Gupt…I lost these because I was ready to settle down.

But unfortunately, things didn't work out. I see no point in blaming him, a lot of water has flown under the bridge. But yes, I was furious when he made statements like, "I didn't ask Raveena to quit." He also tried to insinuate that I had dumped him after his films started flopping. What nonsense. I broke up with him at a time when his best films were going to be released. Mr and Mrs Khiladi, Aflatoon, Arzoo…all these films were on the verge of release. They were all good projects. He can't blame me because his films didn't do well.

I never spoke about him two-timing me with Rekha, Pooja Batra, Nipunika…and god knows who. I even did a bit role in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi for him, a film where Keshu (his friend and producer) hacked my role to pieces. I blasted Akshay in print because I was mad as hell. Today, we are civil when we meet. I'm still friendly to him, but that's that. I wish him luck in life and his career. As for his link-ups, please, I'm not interested.

I lost out on two precious years of my career because I was seeing Akshay Kumar. Girls like Karisma, Manisha, Tabu et al, who started out with me, moved ahead in that time. I don't have anybody else but myself to blame. When I made a comeback, all I got was Chitrahaar Queen roles. I had to make do with that. Thankfully, the industry stood by me and films like Dulhe Raja and Bade Miya Chote Miyan brought me back in the reckoning.

It's today that I'm getting the pick of roles, especially after Shool, which came as a blessing. Though my role was not very big, it proved my credentials as an actress. I'm doing Kalpana Lajmi's Daman, which is a film I'm looking forward to. Plus, there's Rakesh Mehra's film which is another one to watch out for. Life is cool, I couldn't have asked for better. I was like the hare who went to sleep in the middle of the race but now, I've woken up. And there's no stopping me!

- Indya

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