Charmee Kaur is all set to charm and amass a new horde of admirers. The South star, more renowned as Charmee, illumines her debut in Hindi cinema with Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap, sharing frames with Amitabh Bachchan, no less. Ajit Ramachanddran chats up the spunky star…


 
Her long honey toned tresses have got your psyche all tangled up too. You watch with unblinking attention as Charmee Kaur runs a brush lovingly through them… even as you ready to split hair with a fusillade of queries. Minutes later, Charmee indicates that she's all set to brave those questions… grinning and flashing lips drenched in litres of nude lip gloss.

Charmee Kaur, a Sardarni from Vasai in suburban Mumbai managed to get a foothold in South cinema and over th years has consolidated her position as an ace star in Telugu cinema, boasting of flicks showcasing her as a leading lady alongside Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Ravi Teja, Balakrishna, Junior NTR and other A listers.

Presently, she's all set to twirl under the spotlight with Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap enacting Raveena Tandon's daughter in the Viacom 18 and AB Corp flick helmed by Puri Jagannadh. The movie that illumines the return of Amitabh Bachchan in the 'angry man' mould once again, is already being touted as a winner and Charmee is sanguine of its success too.

In the suburban Mumbai office, Charmee is controlling hunger pangs that seem to be gnawing at her innards and is concentrating on the task at hand (granting this inter phew, that is) though she does spell out her foodie sentiments to the PR Senorita who's clinched this chatathon for you ("get me about five or six good 'vada' pav after this is over, I've had no lunch!").

Batting those mascara laden lashes swiftly (indicating impatience, perhaps) Charmee nudges you into talk mode. Excerpts from the conversation...

You managed to turn heroine at the rather young age of 15, while you were schooling at an English medium school at Vasai…
I was 13, not 15 years at that time. Being a Punjabi, a Sardarni, I was big built and though I was 13, I looked 20. When I got my first Telugu film, nobody asked me my age. Then I started getting other offers and I became a heroine in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema.

How did you manage to get this fabulous debut, working with Amitabh Bachchan in 'Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap'?
I knew the director Puri Jagannadh very well, he's a friend. One day, he asked me if I would do Bbuddah? I was quite surprised and said that I'll do it even if I'm offered just a single shot with Amitabh Sir. That's when he told me that he was offering me the role of Amrita in the film. He wanted to know if I had the dates to spare. I told him that for Amitabh Sir, I would create dates if needed.

How would you describe Amrita?
Amrita is a very carefree, bold and bindaas kind of girl. I'm playing Raveena Tandon's daughter in the film. I had scenes where I had to pat Bachchan Sir on the back. I was sure that I could do it, but I was not so sure that I could do it with Bachchan Sir in front of me.

Were you nervous about working with Amitabh Bachchan?
On the first day of shooting, I reached one hour before my call time. I saw Amitabh Sir interacting with Raveena. He seemed so cool and collected and so normal! I just thought as to why was I getting so nervous about working with him in the first place? When he saw me, he asked me if I was ready with my dialogues. When I said that I was, he said 'let's do a rehearsal' and we did. It was a four page scene and we went ahead and did it in one 'take'.

At any stage did you get intimidated by Bachchan?
I remember the time when Jaggan and I were speaking away in Telugu and having fun. Amitabh Sir had one stern look at us and told us, 'There will be no regionalism on my set.' We both caught our throats and ran away from there!

What would you say is the strongpoint of director Puri Jagannadh?
Jaggan is a very chilled out guy. I've never seen him get angry or irritated on the sets. And that's quite unlike some of the South directors whom I have worked with.

You're also sharing frames with a National Award winning actress Raveena Tandon…
Raveena and I got along very well. We discussed everything under the sun… clothes, food, how she takes care of her figure, manages her home, and a whole lot of stuff. In Bbuddah she doesn't play my typical mother in the film.

You also have a great prankster in producer Abhishek Bachchan…
Yes, but my interactions with him were very minimal. He used to come to the sets close to pack up and yell 'Pack Up!'. And sorry, he didn't play any pranks on me.

Did you manage to meet 'the most beautiful woman in the world', Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?
No, I did not. And nor did I get any opportunity to meet Jayaji and I was really looking forward to that too.

Have you signed up for any more Hindi films, in the wake of 'Bbuddah'?
I am in talks at the moment and it will all be announced when the right time comes.

Any favourite Hindi film directors that you desire to work with?
Do you want Bbuddah to be my last Hindi film?
No…
Then don't ask me such questions….