'I go with the script'

After U Me Aur Hum, the lovely Kajol wants to be seen with her husband Ajay Devgan all over again.

“I’m afraid I’ll be seen maybe once a year, if not less, but I’m starting a new film with my husband very shortly. It’s actually an animation film with human characters called Toonpur Ka Superhero, something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

We’re actually playing ourselves, yes, we’ll be Ajay and Kajol. But the cartoon characters get the main roles. It will be healthy competition for me,” Kajol joked.

She’s more full-time mother and part-time-actress now, but Kajol loves being a mother. “I was born to be a mother. It’s my niche in life. And I don’t mind if it sounds a little syrupy in this day and age.

Whoever I’ve worked with, Aditya Chopra in Fanaa or my husband in U Me Aur Hum, knew that my baby comes at numbers 1 to 10, everything else comes later,” said a much mellowed Kajol. According to her, the secret of her staying power is that she does little work. “I like to do less work. No, seriously, I’m lazy. So is my husband. But if I get any more choosy, I won’t be working at all. It’s not that I’m extra selective, but I look at a project in its entirety. I won’t just grab an offer because it comes from a big banner. I believe in the power of the story more than the storyteller.”

All of Kajol’s films have featured her in pivotal parts but, the actress said, she wouldn’t mind doing a small, meaty part as well. “Give me six juicy scenes and I’ll do the role. But those don’t really exist in our cinema. Frankly, even the full-length roles that are offered to me aren’t so great,” Kajol added. What about Fanaa? “Earlier I didn’t do my friend Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna because I had no time. But then, when Fanaa came to me, it sounded really good. But as it usually happens, it turned out better on paper. Like I say, the script is always better than the film. The book is better than the film.” Not true in the cases of Man Woman & Child and The Godfather. Kajol said defensively, “I haven’t read those books.”

She now wants to work only with people she’s comfortable with. “Not necessarily friendly, but yes, who I’m comfortable with. I do so little work, I’d rather do it with people whom I can relate to. I’m not talking about bum-chum friendship, just a basic comfort level is essential.” And suppose she has to choose between doing a film with her husband and her friend Karan Johar? “They both understand me very well as a human being and an actor. So I’d go with the better script.”