Wearing
a white tee and denims, with hair that looks ruffled, yet sits neatly
below her shoulders like intertwined black and brown silken threads woven
together to complement her beautiful face and deeply reflective eyes,
she sits comfortably and offers me a drink to combat the rising temperature
in the Mumbai heat. After exchanging a few words it's clear we are getting
on like old friends and the Dictaphone runs as we chat to the nines about
her journey to the place where she is today, sitting with a smile on the
fence that has 'SUCCESS' painted on the other side, biding her time with
glee.
Rather
than ask the nymphet of niceness about her background and the rest, I
felt from our brief conversation prior to hitting record she's done so
much at such a young age that it's more a journey which has led her to
where she is now, and this too is the end of one phase and the first step
of another journey, so I ask her to tell me when her achievements started,
and she takes me on her travels with her as she beams that smile of hers
and reminisces about her beginnings.
"It all started waaay back when I was in school and college," she says
with a sparkle in her light brown eyes. "There have been achievements
of sorts like winning debates, elocution and competing on an intercollegiate
level, and when I started college I won the VJ Hunt, which
is pretty big over here. They auditioned many people from Madras, Delhi,
Calcutta and Mumbai and they had the final round here where they wanted
to select four new people and introduce them onto MTV. There were hundreds
of people who auditioned and I was lucky enough to come in the first twelve
and even luckier to have finally won it. That's really where the story
starts, and I was a VJ with MTV and that's where the journey began. It
was really exciting and nice but overnight you're thrown into this situation
where you have to survive and you meet a lot of people, travel and broaden
your horizons. Then like any other girl in India, her sights are always
set on the world of Bollywood!" she says barely able to contain her ecstatic
enthusiasm.
"I guess it was a natural move for me," she continues, "because I was
always getting a lot of offers and it was just a matter of timing for
me and being in the right place at the right time. Mr Mehul Kumar was
watching TV and was on the look out for a new girl for his film, and was
looking for someone fresh and to suit his character, doing justice to
the role he wanted to portray and he saw me on MTV and wanted to meet
me. I walked into the office, signed the film and we began shooting, almost
have now completed the film and the rest is history! I left MTV and began
a new journey, and it's been really fun, I've met a lot of people and
the whole experience has been completely overwhelming."
Amrita is still smiling and it's becoming infectious. I can't help but
feel happy for her and amazed at how fast and so young she has achieved
so much, and so it's now my turn to beam at her and ask along this journey
of the last few years, which have been her favourite stops.
"The wild times, masti, masala at college is definitely the first! Just
what goes with being a teenager thrown into the whole college life scenario
and trying to fit in, I love that! The next stop would be MTV because
it was the first time I realised I really want to be successful in what
was given to me, and I wanted to not only survive and be one of the many,
but just be The One. That phase of my life that made me realise I had
an identity of my own that was separate to being Malaika's sister
or just being the sister-in-law to the reputed Khan family, it
was a time I'd consider my calling or becoming. That was definitely one
of my favourite stops."
The becoming of Amrita Arora. I like it. Before I can wonder
why my life has passed relatively slower than the Amrita Express train,
she picks up my thoughts telepathically and says:
"And this stop wasn't really a stop because it's still going on, the rail-gaari
is still chook-chooking right through my life!" she says letting out a
burst of laughter.
By now she has me. I am totally immersed in her sweet charms and now know
who to call for a dosage of happiness and laughter, should I start missing
London too much. She moves on to telling me about how the journey has
been a learning experience - of not only modelling in front of the camera
but also the way things work behind the camera, using the time to pick
up new skills that she feels could better her now and in the future.
"It's been great because it's like travelling. While my friends are all
still studying I'm moving from one place to another and I'm just enjoying
it, it's like a high. It's like I've been given this opportunity and I
just want to do the best I can."
She shifts in her chair as I take a breather from watching this girl literally
grow in front of me through the
journey she has narrated to me in the past half hour. Now she has reached
another stop, I ask her to remember her very first shot for her movie,
Kitne Door Kitne Paas, on hearing which, she bursts out laughing once
again. Moments later, attempting to compose herself, she recounts the
story of her first day shooting.
"My first day was a simple scene in a police station where all I had to
do was react to my co-star Fardeen's dialogue, which was really easy.
Now the next day we started filming a song, and you know how our songs
are. There were loads of people and it suddenly hit me that 'here I am
about to be on 70mm, shooting a film and this is really larger than life!'
Now we were to shoot what is the most intimate moment of the song, and
it scared the hell out of me. I was really embarrassed and had to do it
in front of this janta, my producer and director and was just not getting
it right, and they were really patient because after three takes I still
wasn't getting it right. After the eighth take I was so upset that I ruined
my make up because I was literally bawling thinking 'what is this, why
is this happening!' and Fardeen was being really co operative and
said let's ease off and give her some easy stuff to start with. But we
pulled it off, because he spoke to me in a corner and said 'don't think
of anyone out there and no one can do this like you, you're gonna be the
best' and basically a pep talk, and it worked. I went out there and I
kicked ass!"
As if on cue, she squeals into further reams of laughter and by now you
can literally feel the positive vibe this girl has and how wonderfully
happy she is.
"So that was my first day, there were tears, there was anger, there was
everything and it really opened me up for the rest of the schedule so
much so that there was no stopping me after that!"
We talk some more and her excitement grows with each breath. During her
travels she has had a beginning, a becoming and now a personal dawn. I
ask if she can see her destination and what it is she wants to achieve.
"My goal is to be the best at my craft and master the profession I have
chosen, and I'm willing to work my ass off to get there. I want to achieve
the dreams I have and reach the materialistic goals I have set for myself
because for me that's an achievement and that's it I guess, then one day
to settle down and have kids."
This spurs off us joking about what her kids will be like given her ultra
cool image and youthful lingo, imagining them to be born in denims, donning
shades and pointing to get people's attention with a Yo!. By now I think
the maid must think we've gone mad, but it's ok, it's just the wonderfully
mad world of Amrita Arora.
The topic shifts to London as she keenly absorbs my rantings about the
Queen, Blair and British weather, latching onto my every word, and before
I know it I'm sitting amidst an avid lover of London, who enthusiastically
lets me know what she thinks of the place I'm starting to miss. "I
LOVE LONDON!" she exclaims with glee. "I love everything about that
place! The buzz, the shopping, the weather - I know people hate the weather
but I love it, the monarchy and London is just so classy, it spells class
and spells life. I know people are in awe of America and it's larger than
life, but it's also very intimidating. For me, London has it all and it
has SO many Asians there that you feel like you're at home away from home.
The Indians there have kept their culture and their values and they're
living the same life as here except in a much more beautiful place."
She knows her stuff and talks from experience, having been a prominent
person backstage at the Millennium Masti show two years back. I marvel
at how much she knows of my hometown despite never having lived there
for a long period of time, and I pick up that this is another of her many
skills: to make the most of all she does and gain the maximum from every
experience. As a common friend calls to announce her arrival, we decide
to wrap up and ask her to say something to the people reading. She looks
down for a second, smiles and then slowly raises here eyes to meet mine.
With the same positive vibe and bubbliness she says:
"Go and watch my film, a lot of hard work has gone into it and please
appreciate it for what it is, try to look at it as objectively as possible
and enjoy it!"
As we wait for her guest to arrive, we go on talking and discuss the film
industry, the future and lots more, making me realise that there's so
much more to this young angel than meets the eye. Her infectious chirpiness
and simple smile have a charming quality that immediately draws your attention
to her, and then her personality just steals your heart. The girl who
I first met a few nights ago and thought was rather short is destined
for big things, because good things happen to good people. And where Amrita
is concerned, I'm certain she'll be ranked among the best. Keep watching
the sky, a bright star is about to shine.
Fuad Omar.