She wowed fans with her mast mast antics on the silver screen before taking a sabbatical. But now, Raveena Tandon is set for a ‘comeback’. “Comeback has become a keyword in my life,” laughs Tandon. “Over the past year or so, I’ve made many comebacks with Aap Ke Liye Hum and a Bengali film, Laboratory (2010).”
This time, Raveena is geared up for a fresh outing in Bollywood with the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Buddah. The Satta actor, last spotted in Sandwich (2006), will play Big B’s love interest in Puri Jagannath’s film, also starring Hema Malini and Sonu Sood. Interestingly, she will be the third female actor – after Jiah Khan in Nishabd (2007) and Tabu in Cheeni Kum (2007) – to be paired opposite an older Bachchan. But Tandon insists she won’t be seen doing anything similar.
“I’ve always had strict rules about my portrayal on screen. I’ve been clear about not doing things I’m uncomfortable with,” says Tandon. “So, my set of principles and my laxman rekha (boundaries) will continue. In fact, I’ve to follow my principles more strictly now. I don’t want my kids (Rasha and Ranbir) to ask, ‘Mom, what were you thinking?’”
Tandon says she turned down Darr (1993) and Prem Qaid (’91) because she was not comfortable with certain sultry sequences. As for Buddah, the actor gushes, “It’s an amazingly funny script. My character has a huge crush on Big B. I’m very excited because in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (’98), I had played his sister while Aks (2001) saw him more obsessed with Manoj Bajpai.”
Tandon insists she’s open to sharing screen space with all male actors, including former flame Akshay Kumar. “If I get a good script, I’d love to work with him again. I’m not waiting with a dagger to attack Akki,” she laughs.