"I'm old, married and have kids." - Juhi Chawla

Juhi is keeping away from the limelight. "I don't want to do roles that don't enthuse me. I'd rather be at home because there, I've such lovely things happening to my life.

I don't want to get into the studios wishing I was at home. I only want to do scripts that touch me. That's why I accepted Onir's Bas Ek Pal and Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq. I liked both, though for different reasons. "

She's happy to be around at a time when Hindi cinema is changing colours. "I don't want to do the things that I was doing earlier on. I CAN'T do the things I was doing. Times have changed. I'm older and hopefully wiser. I'd look silly prancing in Panvel. "

"Aamir Khan se Rehaan Engineer tak…. quite a journey," Juhi chuckles about one of her first co-stars and her co-star in Onir's Bas Ek Pal.

Things couldn't get any better for Juhi. Or perhaps they could…You never know what goodies life has in store for her. "Well," Juhi sighs.

"Career-wise I'm doing the kind of work I believe in. In My Brother Nikhil I was the narrator. The story was from my point of view, but I guess someone else could've told the story, huh?"

She's glad to work with Sanjay Suri again. "But he plays my friend, thank God! After being my brother in Nikhil our pair would've caused some awkwardness. I'm actually paired with Rehaan Engineer in Bas Ek Pal. He was a revelation.

When I met him the first time I wondered how compatible we'd look on screen. The moment the camera is on, Rehaan is completely in control. He's very intense. He's an English-speaking Indian. But his Hindi is clear. "

Juhi said she had to be corrected many times while playing the character in Bas Ek Pal. "I enjoyed the experience because I got to work with actors I hadn't worked with before. Likewise in Salaam-e-Ishq. Though we all had different tracks, there're all sorts of actors in the script.

My track was entirely with my colleague Anil Kapoor. It was like old times. The same old Anilji…. the same huddled intense discussions, wanting to do more and more…. It felt good and familiar.

I remembered all the incidents that happened in the past when we worked together. There's always a funny story to tell about earlier experiences. I did a lot of movies in the past.

Some were good, some wonderful, others ridiculous. I can't believe I actually did some of the films that I did! I can't make the same mistakes at this point in my career. "

She looks back fondly at the times that have rolled by. "I had a great time, if not shooting a film then just being with the cast crew, laughing hard with co-stars, grumbling, giggling…. I still enjoy myself on the sets. But there're many new talents, and it's great to be in their company. The industry has changed, and for the better. "

Juhi doesn't crave to do more work. "I like it the way it is right now. Not too much, not too little…This way I've time for everything I want to do. If a good role comes up I'm happy to do it. But I won't choose quantity over quality. That wasn't case earlier on. Now I'm picky. "

She has just said no to a comedy with Ananth Mahadevan. "He has an excellent script. One of the best I've ever heard. But somehow I don't feel it's right for me. I love doing comedy. But this role would've suited me a few years ago.

See, I'm not under any false illusions about my age. I'm married and I've kids. The audience knows that as well as I do. So I'd like to roles that suit my real-life role. I like playing wife, because I'm comfortable doing it.

I don't want to be that bubbly collegian running around pubs. I don't want audiences to turn around and say, 'Why isn't she playing her age?' I was happy doing the cameo with Shah Rukh in Paheli. For once I found a lot of thehrao in my performance. "

She gets offers mainly to play mom or wife. "That's what suits me. Bas Ek Pal and Salaam-e-Ishq belonged to two totally different genres. Salaam-e-Ishq was a big glossy Bollywood film. …I must tell you Nikhil Advani handled me very well. He was open to suggestions but still the master on the sets. Very organized.. "

Choreographer Ganesh Acharya directed a film called Swami with Juhi and Mithun Chakraborty. "Itwas not exactly hardcore Bollywood but not entirely offbeat either. It was a simple and sweet story. My new film is new director Vivek Sharma's Bhootnath where I get to play mom."

Today wife-and-mom Juhi is hardly in touch with the film industry. "Though we are not working together Shah Rukh and I continue to share a wonderful rapport. Then there's Aziz Mirza who's like a father-figure. He keeps planning something or the other.

I'd like to work with him again after Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. He's a joyful filmmaker, my kind of director. But that's it. I live in town and the film industry is another world. "

Hiccups apart, Juhi is happy. "It's not as if I wake up every single morning and say, 'My God, what a wonderful life!' But no complaints."

Subash K Jha, Santabanta