by Subhash K Jha

The compliments after the first show of Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara were unbelievable, so much so that a mock-jealous Anupam Kher was heard grumbling, "Hey this is my film too, you know! But I'm not bothered. I'm the producer. And no one can take credit away from me for that. "

Javed Akhtar was visibly moved. "I can't believe you can put in so much sincerity after so many years."

Alyque Padamsee couldn't believe Urmila's face could look so vulnerable after more than a decade in the business.

"Yes, that was sweet," laughs Urmila. "He came and spoke to me during intermission because he felt there'd too much a crowd at the show's end... He was right... The compliments haven't stopped coming. One of the best comments came from Mrs Tushar Gandhi. She said we should call the film, 'Hum Sab Ne Gandhi Ko Mara Hai'. That's truly appropriate."

"The film makes us collectively guilty about the death of the Gandhian ideal....The press is writing about me going to Paris for Louis Vitton. Sorry, but compared with this film going to Paris is no big deal. I'm not some teenybopper going to Paris for the first time. I'm going out of my way to support the film. It's something I totally believe in."

"MGKNM has made me totally conscious of the Gandhian philosophy. The youngsters today have gone berserk. They don't know where they're going. Sure, money and competition are important. But somewhere we've lost our will to appreciate the Gandhian ideology. Fortunately my father told me about this great man called Gandhi. Somewhere we need to reconnect with the past. I was so delighted to read that Jennifer Aniston say Gandhian philosophy has helped her in getting through her divorce."

According to some cynics such allusions denigrate Gandhi. Urmila disagrees. "On the contrary, I think she's carrying the Gandhian message forward. Chalo, Urmila Matondkar nahin Jennifer Aniston ki to sune."

The Urmila season is on again. Praise for her magnificent performance in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara has just begin, when Urmila is all set to fly off to Paris to represent Bollywood.

"Basically I'll be representing Bollywood in Paris for Louis Vitton. I'll be gone to Paris on 7 October for 4 days. We shall be doing a dinner at the Eiffel Tower on the first night. The next morning there's lunch with a Japanese delegation—as you well know they're ga-ga over Bollywood in Japan. I'll also be doing a photo-shoot all over the streets of Paris for Verve magazine."

Anything new excites me... Of course I'm happy to be doing something new. Of course I'm looking forward to meeting Uma Thurman who's the Louis Vitton ambassador the worldover. Earlier it was Jennifer Lopez... I'm far more excited about meeting Uma than I'd have been about Jennifer... after that I'm dying to take a few days holiday in Paris. I'd like to spend a quiet day in the countryside, lie on the grass, check out the museums."

She comes back from Paris to start a film with Harry Baweja to be directed by Vikram Bhatt. "I play a very unusual role, very light-hearted and easy-going. I'm a little tired of playing traumatized women. Believe me, it's very very draining."

"In Shyam Benegals Chamki (the adaptation of Carmen) I play a role which I don't think has been done on Indian screen before. The woman is such an enigma...Meri band baj jayegi....If I go wrong by even a fraction the character will be ruined. And the music will be my A.R Rahman along with a Spanish composer. I'm going to have a blast."

She did say, no more offbeat films for her, didn't she? "I certainly didn't! Why would I say something like this when I'm working with Shyam Babu. What I did say is, I don't want to do another serious intense role like MGKNM for a while. It's too exhausting. It would be silly of me to cut myself loose from any kind of cinema. I'd rather keep myself open to all kinds of experiences."

She returns to Gandhi. "If the film reaches out to audiences as a father-daughter film we've got it made. Though the title carries Gandhiji's name it isn't just about Gandhi."

One person completely moved by the film is Rituparno Ghosh. "He was so moved. And he has offered me a film. But I'm petrified of working in a language that I know nothing about. I've done Tamil-Telugu films early in my career. But that was at a time when I didn't know my limitations."