Pakhi wangles early entry into husband's film

Oct 22, 2010 Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) It pays to be the director's wife, specially if you happen to be as spirited as Pakhi who makes her debut as a leading lady in Abbas Tyrewala's 'Jhootha Hi Sahi'.

Pakhi's character was to enter the narrative after more than 30 minutes. The debutante actress felt that was way too long a wait. She has now convinced her director-husband to let the audience see her in a song sequence that comes much before her character was supposed to enter the plot.

Pakhi explains: 'It is not as if a new song has been added to the narrative for my sake. The song was there all along. It was just repositioned in the narrative to come earlier than scheduled.'

Pakhi is aware she's getting a dream launch in her husband's film, though not a conventional one.

Says Pakhi: 'I don't enter the film in slow motion. Nor do I get into a costume change in every frame. I play a normal girl. And, yes, I am not the central character in 'Jhootha Hi Sahi'. John Abraham's character is far more central to the plot. I should know. I wrote the script.'

Not that Pakhi sees herself in every film she writes. Priyanka Chopra, an actress Pakhi admires, would be ideal in the next script.

'I am not here to write films only for myself. After 'Jhootha Hi Sahi' I'd be hopefully noticed by other scriptwriters and directors and be cast in their films!'

Pakhi is very clear about making a career in acting. 'I'm here to stay. At least that's the intention. I'm aware 'Jhootha Hi Sahi' is not the kind of launch that would make audiences go nuts about me. There aren't too many stand-alone shots for me. During a large part of the narrative I am part of an ensemble.'

Pakhi, it is said, wrote 'Jhootha Hi Sahi' only so she could share screen space with her college crush John Abraham. The spunky aspirant doesn't deny she had a thing about John.

'When I met him for the first time we exchanged pleasantries and then I walked straight into a French window. Luckily, nothing got broken. But my crush did get crushed.'

There are intimate moments in the film between John and Pakhi. And it must have been awkward to be directed in them by her husband.

Says Pakhi: 'At the end of the day we are all professionals. And really, how much passion can you squeeze out of a love scene when you're shooting in restricted areas of London where you have exactly 25 seconds before the director, who happens to be your husband, calls cut and we run off to avoid traffic?'

Oh, and Pakhi is Size 00P which in fashion parlance is a lot thinner than Size 0.

'It comes from being petite in frame and hitting the gym really hard to stay paper-thin,' says Pakhi, who lives in a large family that takes care of her home while she pursues her acting aspirations.

Abbas and Pakhi are to move into their new home soon. 'That got sinfully delayed because of 'Jhootha Hi Sahi'. The film has taken three years of our life. Maybe now we can go back to doing what normal couples do,' ends Pakhi.

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Jhootha Hi Sahi