IANS

Johannesburg, Sep 3: Candid comments on her co-stars of yesteryear and her role as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador in fighting HIV-AIDS were the order of the day as actress Sharmila Tagore made a fleeting visit to South Africa.

Tagore, who first hit the headlines in the sixties for her bold screen performances at a time when women in bikinis were still frowned upon, participated in public interviews entitled "In Conversation With," part of the Shared Histories Festival celebrating India in South Africa, organised by the Indian missions here.

In Durban Tagore earlier had a packed audience, but her Johannesburg appearance on Sunday evening drew a rather poor crowd.

Tagore told of how she had been angry with her male co-stars who were consistently late for shootings by up to six hours of the scheduled times, singling out the late Sanjeev Kumar and Rajesh Khanna, the latter one of her most popular pairings, as being notorious for this.  But Amitabh Bachchan, with whom Tagore co-starred a few years ago in the film "Virrudh", came in for praise for his work ethic and punctuality.

On her family life, Tagore related how she had met her husband, Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi:  "I don't think he ever proposed to me.  He just asked me to come and meet his mother and then told her that he wanted to marry me!"

The couple have three children, Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, both actors.  Another daughter, Saba, who accompanied her mother on the trip, is a designer.

Responding also to a question about changes in censorship in India in the past decade, Tagore, who is the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in India, said: "We've become more liberal (in our censorship) because society has become more liberal."

Tagore also expressed a desire to work with the youngest generation of Indian directors "because they bring a different kind of energy to the industry."  She said her favourite directors were Nagesh Kukkunoor of "Iqbal" fame; Vishal Bardhwaj, who made "Omkara" with an award-winning role for her son Saif Ali Khan; and Rakesh Mehra, who made "Rang De Basanti."

"I haven't retired (from the film industry), but roles can't be engineered.  The directors must want me."

On her favourite in the newest batch of starlets, Sharmila did not beat about the bush as most Bollywood stars do with politically correct answers that effectively name nobody, but immediately replied, "Konkana Sen, (also a Bengali actress like Tagore) but she won't have the stereotypical requirements of most directors." 

Tagore was referring to the fact that the talented Konkana, who has been lauded for the many "arty" roles she has done, would not be considered for the fluffy heroine roles in most Bollywood films.

Tagore said she had been to Uganda where she was saddened to meet many child-headed households because so many parents were dying of the dreaded disease.  She called for an end to discrimination against people infected with HIV/AIDS.