Kamal Ghorui
Actress Mamta Kulkarni who left Bollywood long ago, is still remembered for movies like ‘Karan Arjun’, ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’, ‘Waqt Hamara Hai’ and many others. In a recent interview, Mamta took a trip down memory lane, reflecting on the warmth and closeness that defined the Hindi film industry in the 1990s. She had shared screen space with Aamir Khan in ‘Baazi’ and she recalled memories from those days as she opened up on the comfort and camaraderie which existed on a movie set during that time, as opposed to how things are today. Mamta revealed that in an era before vanity vans became standard, co-stars often relied on each other’s homes during shoots. She recalled how Aamir Khan would frequently come straight to her residence while filming ‘Baazi’, change in her bedroom, and even step into her kitchen after pack-up to make tea—gestures she says reflected a simpler, more trusting time.
She spoke about the 90s while reflecting on AR Rahman’s ‘communal’ remark. She said in an interview with IANS, “Look, I feel extremely fortunate that I worked in the 1990s. Believe me, I never thought in those terms. I worked with Aamir Khan, I worked with Shah Rukh Khan… we never looked at each other’s religion. Honestly, what should I even say now?”Expanding on the working culture of that era, she emphasised how different film sets were without modern-day facilities. “Aamir Khan used to come to my house. When we were shooting ‘Baazi’, he would come and sit at my place. Many times during shoots, he would go into my bedroom to change because back then, there were no vanity vans. It wasn’t like, ‘there’s a van, so we’ll change there.’ If Aamir was shooting in Lokhandwala, he would directly come to my house and change in my bedroom.”Mamta said such openness was simply the norm at the time. “We would enter each other’s homes, get ready there, and then go straight for the shoot. During ‘Baazi’’s shoot, after pack-up, Aamir Khan and I would come straight to my house, and he would go into my kitchen and make tea.”She added that the same spirit of togetherness carried over to international tours with Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. “When we went on a world tour with Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, we would sit in each other’s homes, someone would be making tea, someone else would be cooking. We never thought about such things. But now, it has truly become like this, everything has stopped. An artist is an artist. Please don’t bring discrimination here.”Addressing the evolving landscape of the music industry, Mamta also shared her thoughts on AR Rahman, suggesting that creative phases change with time. She concluded by saying, “And when you ask about AR Rahman, everything has its time. Maybe your kind of music is no longer relevant. Today, so many very good singers are sitting at home without work,” she said.
