Trees And Memories For Juhi Chawla On Her Birthday

A couple of years ago, while speaking to me for my book, Spooked! Bollywood’s Encounters with the Paranormal (2023), Juhi Chawla had flashbacked to when she was asked to write an essay on what she wanted to be when she grew up. While her classmates came up with tried-and-tested choices like doctor and artist, Juhi’s answer surprised her teachers and made her friends giggle.

The seventh standard student of an all-girl’s convent school in Mumbai had a chance to see a film of George Cuckor. Rich and Famous (1981) was the last film of the legendary director. Even though it is not as well-known as The Philadelphia Story (1940), Born Yesterday (1950), A Star Is Born (1954) or the Oscar-winning My Fair Lady (1964), it stayed in Juhi’s mind and its title crept into that assignment. “I want to be rich and famous,” she wrote with absolutely no premonition of what was to come.

Juhi started modelling in her teens and even won a college pageant. One day, she saw some fellow students filling out forms for the Femina beauty contest and, pushed by her friends at Sydenham College, Sumeet Chopra, and his sister Sangeeta Chopra, shot off an application too. Since she was not yet 18, she had to take her father’s permission, and he was frankly surprised by his daughter’s sudden and impulsive decision. Soon, she surprised the whole country when, with bubbly charm and confidence that sashayed but didn’t strut, Juhi Chawla sailed through the finals in a dress borrowed from a friend and was crowned Miss India 1984 by actress Rekha.

A month later, she flew off to Miami to represent India at the Miss Universe contest and quickly became a favourite with the other contestants from 80 countries. The crown was eventually bagged by Miss Sweden, Yvonne Ryding, but Juhi Chawla, beautiful and bejewelled in a pink ghagra-choli, made the country proud by winning the award for ‘Best National Costume’.    

Had it not been for Miss India title, Juhi, a commerce student, might well have done her MBA and winged her way into the corporate world. Or she might have got into hotel management, following in the footsteps of her mother, Mona Chawla, who graduated from the housekeeping department to becoming executive director of a luxury hotel before her untimely demise.

She even flirted briefly with the idea of becoming a graphic designer and also a singer, like her favourite Lata Mangeshkar. She does have a melodious voice and with her training in Hindustani classical music, has performed at concerts alongside renowned musicians. In 2004, at the Zee Cine Awards, Juhi left Karan Johar visibly stunned and Sushmita Sen clapping enthusiastically with her rendition of the Kal Ho Naa Ho title track. She has also given playback, with Amitabh Bachchan, for the song “Chalo Jaane Do” in the 2008 supernatural comedy Bhoothnath. 

But today, we know her as a naayika (actress) rather than a gaayika (singer), even though films had not been on the horizon till she returned from the Miss Universe contest and was offered a starring role opposite Shashi Kapoor’s son, Karan, in Sultanat (1986). It was too big an offer to pass up because producer Arjun Hingorani had planned it as an Indo-American project, with an English version titled Chasing the Sword to be shot after the Hindi film wrapped up, starring Christopher Atkins, Kevin Bernhardt and Karen Mayo Chandler. Sultanat too had several big stars besides these two newcomers, namely Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Sridevi. Unfortunately, the English version was scrapped and the script tweaked and as a result, Juhi’s blockbuster debut was a disaster.

However, while shooting for Sultanat, Juhi had signed a three-film deal with Nasir Hussain. One of the films was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), with the producer’s son, Mansoor Khan, as the director, and his nephew, Aamir Khan, as her hero. She was still relatively new, despite having starred in the superhit Kannada-Tamil bilingual, Pramaloka/Paruva Ragam, when I met her for the first time at the Filmfare office. I remember asking a colleague who the pretty girl was. However, once QSQT released—on April 29, 1988—just as no one asked, “Who’s Aamir Khan?” no one ever wondered again, “Who’s Juhi Chawla?”

A year after her Romeo-Juliet story brought love back into the theatres in the era of action, she hosted a grand birthday bash at a Mumbai five-star hotel. The who’s who of the Hindi film were there for her on her special day, including Aamir and Mansoor. Thirty-seven years have passed since and today, Juhi Chawla is rich and famous, yet remains rooted and real.

In my younger days, when I was on studio rounds, she would occasionally sail past with a cheery “Hi” as I waited in the scorching sun for an interview with one of her contemporaries. Within five minutes, her Man Friday would arrive with a message that madam wanted to see me. Once I entered her air-conditioned make-up room or vanity van, I was not allowed to leave till I got my interview summons. If the tête-à-tête was with her—and it happened usually during the lunch break—I was not allowed to speak till I had taken a bite.

Even at the peak of her popularity, Juhi’s priority was her parents, and her brother Bobby. After marriage, husband Jay Mehta, and her children, Jhanvi and Arjun, have her heart. I remember a book release where she was the chief guest. After I had escorted her to the dais, and listened to her read some excerpts, I decided to skip the Q-and-A and explore the bookstore. Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me asking what I was looking for. When I explained that I was looking for picture books for my young daughter which she couldn’t tear and whose pages could be wiped clean of scribbles, Juhi enthusiastically joined me in my search, pointing out that she would soon need such books for daughter too.

Among Juhi’s most memorable birthday presents is a hand-drawn card by her kids, with funny doodles and blurbs listing out her repeated instructions, from “No more TV” to “Don’t eat junk”. She pinned it on her bathroom mirror and for several years, this card was the first thing she saw every morning. 

On her part, Juhi has been pledging trees for family and friends on their special day. An environmental warrior, she has tirelessly campaigned for conservatism and sustainable living. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, she reasons, we borrow it from our children, and she wants to preserve the planet in all its pristine glory for them. So, planting a sapling would be the best gift for the happy-go-lucky Ms Chawla.