Mark Manuel/TNN
 
Mumbai, Oct 4: Karisma Kapoor fans, rejoice! Your heroine is ready to return to work.

And it may be sooner than you imagine. Bollywood has decided that enough is enough; it now wants the gorgeous actress back. Karisma hasn’t as yet signed a “comeback” film.

But she’s seeing scripts, looking for a role that will justify her leaving home, family and daughter and stepping back into the limelight. These are her words, not mine. She doesn’t get the “comeback” bit, however. “Don’t women in other professions take maternity leave,” she asked me with spirit, “do secretaries make comebacks? Does anybody in Hollywood ask Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep who make one film in five years whether they are coming back?”

I got her point. We were talking over coffee at a suburban club. She jets between Delhi and Mumbai like, well, secretaries commute between Virar and Churchgate.

Her in-laws have houses in both cities. “It’s nice for me,” smiled Karisma, “I enjoy the hustle and bustle of Mumbai and the calm and lovely winters of Delhi.” Mumbai hasn’t seen her since Shakti in 2002, but at 34, she could still stop the traffic. Neither the demands of marriage nor the tugs of motherhood have so much as dented her stunning good looks. Delhi designer Manav Gangwani got her to walk the ramp for him at the India Couture Week recently. And Karisma had the audience drooling. But how long will she be happy doing only fashion shows, brand endorsements, and remaining connected to Bollywood through her younger sister?

I asked if she would consider a film with Kareena. “I’ve been offered umpteen number of films,” she admitted, “but it’s a big deal for us to co-star and we don’t want to do just any film, this would have to be the ultimate.”

And what about cousin Ranbir? “Not a romantic role opposite him,” Karisma said horrified, “but a character role, why not?” She thinks Ranbir has all the makings of a star in his blood. And Kareena? “What can I say? She’s fantastic! Actresses aren’t made like her. But I think her best is yet to come. I liked her in Yuva and Chameli. In Jab We Met, she made me cry. Who’s the better actress, she or me? We’re different, but she is — by far! I had to work a lot but Kareena’s a natural.”

Maybe they are different as actresses, but how about as persons, as Kapoor girls with individual takes on men, love and marriage? Could she, like Kareena, have had a relationship with a co-star like Saif Ali Khan when at the top of her career?

“Probably not,” replied Karisma reluctantly, “I’m old fashioned. Kareena shocks me. But that’s the thing you love about her.” As the elder sister, did she approve of Kareena seeing Saif given his reputation of failed relationships? There was no hesitation in Karisma’s answer, “After all my experiences, I’ve learned not to judge anybody. You don’t know what’s going on in their home and life. Bebo is important to me, she’s a sensible girl, what makes her happy — makes me happy, the family will stand by whatever decision she takes.”

What about Saif, did she know him? “Of course,” the brown eyes danced with amusement, “we did Sooraj Barjatya’s hit film Hum Saath Saath Hain in, I think, 2000. As a co-star, he’s chilled out, fun-loving. To have as a brother-in-law? Hmmm... Saif’s a wonderful person, sweet, and he treats me like the elder sister though he is older than me!” She’s had the pick of Bollywood’s male hunks as co-stars, everybody from Aamir to Akshay and Shah Rukh to Salman, but Karisma rates no actor as her favourite leading man. “The script has always been of utmost importance to me, and my role, but I’ve been lucky to have had good relations with all my co-stars,” she said diplomatically. “All my co-stars are now Kareena’s. They must have a sense of deja vu, they’ve seen her on my sets, and now they’re working with her.”

I wanted to know about her marriage to Delhi businessman and polo player Sanjay Kapoor, a ticklish subject. “Getting married, becoming a mother, is something an actress cannot imagine until she goes through it in real life... that’s because we do it so many times in films. We think life’s a film scene. But in real life, it’s a beautiful experience in a different way. It’s challenging to grow into a woman. The fun of being married is the blending of two personalities,” she began. But what about the rumours, I asked.

“Well, I’ve been through a lot, but I always take the good out of everything. I’m a strong, determined and positive person. You should read that book Extreme Marriage in which marriage is described as the ultimate extreme sport. It’s a humorous book. Marriage is challenging, it’s a lot of fun, there are beautiful stories and sad. I think marriages are made in heaven,” Karisma Kapoor said. So are thunder and lightning, I gently reminded her.