Yes, this is Raveena Tandon, Bollywood’s ‘Mast Mast’ girl of the mid 1990s... not to be confused with Madhuri Dixit, the ‘Dhak Dhak’ girl of the late 1980s... both now happy mothers and actresses on the fringes of filmdom. Raveena still wears the sparkle in her eye and the mischief in her smile that was noticed in her debut film Pathar ke Phool.
She was 16 then. But now, her sabbatical after motherhood over, Raveena is ready to return to Bollywood... but not as “the girl-next-door type” instead, the sexy actress wants to do “strong-woman-of-today roles”.
The time-out has done her good. She’s lost oodles of weight and is now back to looking like the sexy siren she was in films like Mohra. Playing mother and homemaker, making time for her ‘extended family’ of NGOs, has given Raveena a new outlook on Bollywood. She’s working on a film that’s woman-oriented, being directed by Revathy Varma and which co-stars Ayesha Takia and Jaya Bachchan. “I’ve done all women-oriented, strong roles so far, and to come back,
I’d like to pick up from where I left,” Raveena said.
In the interim period, she worked for orphanages, women’s homes and NGOs doing good for the cause of the girl child like UNICEF and WRAI. “I’ve also recently become ambassadress to the Spina Bifida Foundation. There have been times when I’ve actually slept in the orphanages with those children,” she said. She’s also adopted 21 homeless dogs.
“They are of Indian breed,” she said proudly. Her four-year-old daughter joins the gang by bringing in strays occasionally. “The other day, she brought a kitten home! My husband jokes that our house is turning into a zoo,” Raveena said, a twinkle in her eyes and mischief in her smile.
She was 16 then. But now, her sabbatical after motherhood over, Raveena is ready to return to Bollywood... but not as “the girl-next-door type” instead, the sexy actress wants to do “strong-woman-of-today roles”.
The time-out has done her good. She’s lost oodles of weight and is now back to looking like the sexy siren she was in films like Mohra. Playing mother and homemaker, making time for her ‘extended family’ of NGOs, has given Raveena a new outlook on Bollywood. She’s working on a film that’s woman-oriented, being directed by Revathy Varma and which co-stars Ayesha Takia and Jaya Bachchan. “I’ve done all women-oriented, strong roles so far, and to come back,
I’d like to pick up from where I left,” Raveena said.
In the interim period, she worked for orphanages, women’s homes and NGOs doing good for the cause of the girl child like UNICEF and WRAI. “I’ve also recently become ambassadress to the Spina Bifida Foundation. There have been times when I’ve actually slept in the orphanages with those children,” she said. She’s also adopted 21 homeless dogs.
“They are of Indian breed,” she said proudly. Her four-year-old daughter joins the gang by bringing in strays occasionally. “The other day, she brought a kitten home! My husband jokes that our house is turning into a zoo,” Raveena said, a twinkle in her eyes and mischief in her smile.
