Kajol looks back on finding herself & her people in cinema

Kajol went from a teenage debutante to an enduring force of superstardom, all while remaining unapologetically herself in a career spanning 34 years since her debut in ‘Bekhudi’. And now, as her most iconic film, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, is on the cusp of clocking in 30 years of rewriting the language of love in Indian cinema, Kajol takes a beat to reflect on how she found her people and her place in an industry she once wanted to avoid.

In a candid conversation with ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, Kajol laughed at the idea that acting was ever part of her childhood dream. “I grew up saying, I’m dying not to be an actor,” she confessed. But fate had other plans. When she finally walked onto a film set, the 16-year-old wasn’t thinking about stardom. She was simply having the time of her life.

“It wasn’t the work so much for me. It was the people,” Kajol recalled. She added, “It wasn't the work so much for me. It was the people. I remember very clearly meeting Gautam and Mickey in my first photo session and we just clicked. And it was like, ‘Am I going to be working? What does work entail?’ Because I was like all of 16 and a half and I didn’t understand the term, work. So, they were like, ‘You’re going to be going on a shoot and working with Mickey, Gautam and Rahul uncle. And I was like, ‘Okay, these are really cool people and I don’t mind spending time with them’. For me, it was more about spending time with them. At the end of the film, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I have had such a great time. I met so many wonderful people that I knew I had found my kind of people’.”

That first spark on the sets of ‘Bekhudi’ became the beginning of a lifelong relationship with cinema. And as her iconic film ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ nears its 30th anniversary, she stands at an exciting crossroads, redefining her stardom once again. Her stint as host on ‘Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle’ is dominating social media chatter. Also, her performance in the second season of ‘The Trial’ has been lauded for its emotional depth, garnering massive viewership.