'I don't get into romantic tangles'

Exactly a decade ago, we got introduced a face that could emote through those expressive eyes. Nearly 50 films old, consistently riding on the success wave and sharing screen space with actors like Navdeep, Jr NTR, Mahesh and Prabhas, she is probably the only actress who has worked with both the Mega father and Mega son. Yes, with Ram Charan in Magadheera and with Chiranjeevi in Khaidi 150. The Aggarwal with double ‘g’. I am sure, all of us have guessed the name and she needs no more introduction.

Kajal Aggarwal, who is already giving major saree goals for her female fans with Nene Raju Nene Mantri, finds promotions more tiring than shooting. After her Bangalore promotions, and on her way to the Vijayawada promotions, she spares a few minutes to speak about how jam-packed traffic and long distances take a toll on her. “When I am shooting, I am at one place for a long time but during promotions, the incessant travel drains me out. Nevertheless, I enjoy meeting and greeting people,” she says.

With such intensive promotions on both traditional and social media, we are all well educated about how the shooting, script and the movie happened. We ask her what she is taking back from this movie, and pat comes the reply, “We were shooting extensively in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. We were staying at a place called Bungalow, which has become my favourite now. We were bang in the middle of summer. It was hot and tiring. Teja sir, Suresh sir, Rana, Navdeep, Catherine and myself stayed at the same hotel. There was no room service. I never step out my room after the shoot. I avail room service and enjoy the solitude. I used to only step out for the gym. This hotel didn’t have that option, which turned out great for me. We all used to gather at the restaurant to have dinner at 7.30 pm sharp. We would have the meal together with great discussion, exchange of thoughts, ideas and opinions. It felt like we were a family. It made us feel comfortable. I will surely take this back with me,” she says with joy.

Supplementing the behind the scenes memory, she speaks about an on-screen moment. “There is an intense scene between Radha and Jogender (Kajal and Rana), where she is extremely upset and disappointed. There is a moment of confrontation, where she chooses not to react. But, the minute her husband leaves, she breaks down. I wanted to project that moment in a particular manner and Teja sir was happy with my suggestion. He allowed me to do it my way. I really broke down and cried for that scene. That scene will remain special to me,” she says. 

‘Kajal Aggarwal official’ reads her Instagram page with 5.5 million followers. Most of the pictures are about her vacation abroad. This vacay junkie says she wants to visit Zanzibar by the end of this year. “I haven’t been to the African sub-continent, so that is on my list. I want to go to North pole for sure. Although I have been Iceland and Norway, I want to go again to watch the Northern Lights. Similarly, I have been to Japan but I want to go again in the cherry blossom season. I want to do some seasonal things,” she laughs while adding that she wants to swim with dolphins and sharks.

She chortles loud when we ask her about her success mantra for being on the top consistently. She credits it to her discipline and hard work.

“What works for me, may not work for you. I prioritise life and stay organised. One thing I stand by strongly is not get involved in any romantic tangles or emotional alliances with any co-star. That works for me well. I avoid mess which keeps my peace of mind intact. It helps me focus better on work,” she concludes.