How Replacing An Actress In 'Buniyaad' Led Kiran Joneja To Her Future Husband Ramesh Sippy

LehrenDotCom

In an exclusive interview with senior most journalist Bharathi S Pradhan for Lehren, The talented Kiran Joneja opens up about her Delhi background & early modeling days in Mumbai! The actress also talks about her big break in Rajshri's Paying Guest & Wah! Janaab opposite Shekhar Suman. Joneja recalls her initial funny Sholay memory & reveals how the latter met Ramesh Sippy (husband) for the first time in turn bagging a pivotal role in his hit venture Buniyaad (1986). #kiranjoneja #rameshsippy #buniyaad #sholay #wahjanaab #payingguest #sippyfilms

Transcript

00:00How did you meet Shole director Ramesh Suthi?

00:09When did you meet Ramesh Suthi or how did you meet Ramesh Suthi?

00:13Okay, the first one.

00:15So, I was really...

00:17Disney of Veerawalli.

00:18Veerawalli.

00:19But I was still modeling at that time actually, more actively.

00:22And television had just started.

00:25So, I got a call from Rajshri saying that we've got a one episode kind of a thing and we'd like you to come.

00:35It was a serial called Paying Guest.

00:37And every episode would have a new Paying Guest and a story around that Paying Guest.

00:42And I did it.

00:43And enjoyed doing it because I did act from childhood.

00:46I did some plays in college and so it was...

00:48You live in Delhi, right?

00:50Delhi.

00:51So, did you come to Mumbai for that?

00:53No, I came to Mumbai for modeling.

00:56And I was living in Mumbai then because I was one of the top models at that time already.

01:00And I had done work for already 3-4 years before television came up.

01:04And then I started working in television.

01:06Maybe even a little longer.

01:07Maybe 5 years.

01:08And so, I did it and I enjoyed it.

01:11And then there was a serial called Bhajanab.

01:15Which was Shekhar Suman's first.

01:18Yes.

01:19Bhajanab was a big hit.

01:20It was a big hit.

01:21Yes.

01:22It was a big hit.

01:23But unfortunately, we didn't go beyond 26.

01:24Because it was very Urduish.

01:27You know, it was Shuddh Urdu because it was Lakhnaui's background.

01:30Correct.

01:31And I actually got it because they were looking for a girl, jiski zaman saaf ho.

01:36Okay.

01:37Okay.

01:38And me being from the north, being Delhi, main khayaal bolte thi.

01:41Khayaal ne bolte thi.

01:42I could say that.

01:43Right.

01:44So, they were looking for someone who could talk like that.

01:46And that's how I got auditioned for it.

01:47Okay.

01:48For Bhajanab.

01:49For Bhajanab.

01:50For Bhajanab.

01:51And that's how I got the serial.

01:52Okay.

01:53So, after Bhajanab, Amit Khanna, who was working with Rameji on Bunyat, behind the scenes,

02:00they were looking for this character.

02:03They had actually started shooting.

02:04They had taken another actor for this.

02:06Oh.

02:07And they had shot with her.

02:08Bhajanab.

02:09Yes.

02:10Yes.

02:11They had shot two, three episodes with her.

02:13I won't tell you.

02:14No.

02:15What is the point?

02:16What is the point?

02:17So, with one actor, they shot two, three episodes.

02:22Okay.

02:23For the stage.

02:24For the stage.

02:25For the stage.

02:26And then, somehow Rameji was not happy with it.

02:28Okay.

02:29So, they said to me, I'm thinking of redoing this.

02:37So, by the time I met him, they were in their sixth or seventh episode.

02:41Okay.

02:42And this character starts in third episode.

02:44So, with the scenes of these characters, they were shooting.

02:47And so, there was a lot of pressure on them to decide who to give this role and who to shoot it with.

02:54So, I was in Delhi.

02:58And I came back from Delhi.

02:59My nephew was born.

03:00Came from Delhi.

03:01And at the airport, I had this gentleman who was looking after my work at that stage.

03:05He said, let's go, let's go.

03:08We have to go to Film City.

03:10I said, we have to go to Film City.

03:11And it was like 5, 5.30 in the evening.

03:13And I'm saying, why am I going to go so late now?

03:15Okay.

03:16You didn't know why you came here.

03:17No.

03:18No.

03:19At that time, phones were a problem.

03:20Mobiles were a little.

03:21Correct, correct.

03:22So, my secretary had been told, we want to see her.

03:26So, he came to the airport to receive me.

03:28And at the airport, he said, let's go, straight.

03:31So, my car was waiting.

03:32And I'm straight.

03:33We went to Film City.

03:34Film City.

03:35Film City.

03:36Film City.

03:37Film City.

03:38Film City.

03:39Film City.

03:40Film City.

03:41Film City.

03:42Film City.

03:43Film City.

03:44Film City.

03:46Film City.

03:47Film City.

03:48Film City.

03:49Film City.

03:50Film City.

03:51And that shooting is going on and I'm thinking, why do we have to shoot every day?

03:55You know, I was such a nervous in the film industry.

03:58I didn't understand why do we have to shoot every day.

04:01And you know, what really great creative people do, I had no clue.

04:06I'm not from the film industry, anywhere.

04:08My father was a doctor, I'm from Delhi.

04:10I had no guidance here, nobody to tell me, this is right, this is not right.

04:15I made many mistakes because of that.

04:17Because I took the decisions and those decisions were based on my thinking.

04:22So anyway, we went there and Ramesh Ji was shooting at that time.

04:27One scene with Anita Kavar, Alok and Anita Kavar, an outdoor, open town.

04:34And there was a manji, you know.

04:37So I said, sit here, sit on me and sit on the manji.

04:40And I was wearing this western dress, white colored, because I didn't have any idea that I'm going to go there.

04:45So I normally wear Western clothes.

04:48So I was wearing this manji and I was watching a scene.

04:53And when there was a little break, they were doing the relighting for whatever.

04:57So Ramesh Ji came and sat on the chair.

04:59Director wrote a chair, he put it on the chair.

05:01He put it on the chair and Ramesh Ji sat.

05:04And so he questioned me a little.

05:06And he said,

05:07So you knew that this is Ramesh Siddhpi.

05:10Yes, but I didn't have any idea of who is Ramesh Siddhpi.

05:12To be very honest with you.

05:13I mean, who is means I knew it directed films.

05:16But I never knew how big a director was.

05:19I didn't have any idea.

05:21I didn't know that Shole was directed.

05:22Yes, but in Delhi, we didn't have so much knowledge.

05:29Shole also didn't have any knowledge.

05:29I watched it.

05:30Oh, I watched it.

05:31I watched it.

05:32But I'm not from the film world.

05:35So it's such a big hit.

05:37We all think it's such a big hit.

05:40You know, we don't talk like that.

05:42Yes, we talk a little bit.

05:44So I knew that my Shole's memory is a very strange memory.

05:49So before I saw that,

05:50my parents used to be curating films.

05:55Right.

05:55If I had to go to the theatre,

05:57I would have asked before,

05:58that there are no scenes in such a way.

06:00You know, it's a good time to watch children.

06:02And then we would see few films, you know, apart.

06:06In the year, 4-5 films in theatre,

06:08it would have been a little bit every week.

06:09So I did see Shole,

06:11but memory is not.

06:13But Shole's first,

06:16my irritation on Sunday,

06:18and I wanted to sleep in the afternoon.

06:20I was drinking a glass of glass of glass.

06:21I was drinking in Delhi.

06:22I was drinking a glass of glass of glass.

06:25And I said, I'm going to sleep.

06:26I was drinking with someone.

06:28And someone did record.

06:29How many people were there.

06:31Then there was some other light.

06:33And I said, I don't have to sleep all day.

06:37Because they're playing in the neighborhood.

06:38There was a speaker on the other side.

06:39So, I don't know what had to be done with some function.

06:41I was not sure what was happening.

06:42But I could hear this record playing again and again and again.

06:47So this is my first introduction to Sholei before I saw the film.

06:52Oh, okay. An irritation come. It was an irritating reaction.

06:56I was like, I have to sleep now. Why are you playing every time?

07:00Because I didn't know how crazy it was.

07:03Because we didn't come from that background.

07:05That's right.

07:06When you met Ramesh Ji and you were thinking about something,

07:11what happened? How did you talk about it?

07:13Yes, so he asked me some questions. Then he asked me,

07:17are there dates available?

07:19So I said, I am modeling, so there are dates available.

07:22We are not booked for, you know.

07:24So it comes from time to time.

07:26Yes, I can do it.

07:27The next thing he asked me, would you, how old are you?

07:30So I was like, why does he want to know?

07:32So I said, as old as I look, you know.

07:35I did not answer that question.

07:37So then he said, no, I'm asking,

07:39would you be comfortable playing from young to old?

07:43And I was so excited in my mind,

07:46that I got the opportunity to show talent.

07:49Young to old, wow, beautiful.

07:52I didn't think that in India,

07:54there are perceptions in the film line.

07:56If you play a role play,

07:58then you have the role of old.

08:00And it was my bad luck in the field,

08:03and my mother,

08:04both of them,

08:05I played young to old.

08:07But my last memory then,

08:08is to stay old.

08:09Because what you see at the end,

08:11you see the person as old.

08:14So, in India,

08:16I had a role of the mother of a huge hero.

08:20I mean, let's just go back a little, two hits, one super, great TV serials, after Bunyad and Mahabharat, you made a mother's role.

08:34That is why I lost out on a lot of work because I said, how can I play mother at this age? And two people who are older than me.

08:42I mean, they are more than 10, 12, 15 years old than me and I will play their mother. But they have seen me as a mother.

08:51So, where the world has become, the world will end. As far as cinema is concerned.

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