If I would have contested from Delhi, I would have won: Hema Malini

Says the original Dream Girl, claiming she would rather contest from a backward constituency in Jharkhand

Says the original Dream Girl, claiming she would rather contest from a backward constituency in Jharkhand

Even at 60, Dream Girl Hema Malini raises a storm of emotions as she takes the stage to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party. She backed out from contesting on the party ticket from New Delhi, happy being on the back burner. The original glamour girl in an exclusive interview with Amit Kumar while on a whirlwind tour of New Delhi to Mumbai through Mathurau00a0

beauty and brain: Hema Maliniu00a0pic/amit kumar

You backed out from contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the New Delhi constituency. Were you scared by the fact that people had rejected TV star Smriti Irani, who ruled the primetime soap audience's imagination as the traditional Indian women, and would say no to your glamour?
Do not compare me with Smriti Irani. She belongs to the next generation. I am very different from her.
Also, I know Delhi. I did my schooling from Delhi and I resided at Gole Market. I live in Mumbai because of my profession. If I would have contested the Lok Sabha elections from Delhi, I would have surely won.

In the past, many celebrities like Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha had contested from the high-profile New Delhi seat. Don't you think, it would have added to your career graph?
Not only New Delhi, I was asked to contest from Mathura too. But let me make clear one fact clear, I won't contest from metros like Delhi and Mumbai as these are developed constituencies. I will prefer to represent small towns and villages from rural India, may be in Jharkhand or Chhattisgarh so that I can focus on the problems people face. I want to help the poor.

Let's walk down memory lane. How did politics happen?
Vinod Khanna approached me with the idea of joining politics. He was a Bollywood colleague and wanted me to campaign for him at Gurdaspur, from where he was contesting the Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate. I was hesitant but my mother, who was alive at that time, insisted I accept his proposal saying that the BJP is a party of Atal Behari Vajpayee. She had written my first speech which I have with me even today.

How was the response?
I hadn't imagined the rapturous response I received. My speech had an overwhelming impact on the audience there. It was then that I realised the impact of my films on people. It was after the incident that I decided to continue my support for the BJP.

There are many stalwart leaders in the BJP. Is there any difference in the way supporters react to you and senior leaders?
People wait for me for hours at rallies. And unlike senior leaders who only deliver their speeches, I am always asked to recall and regale the crowd with filmi dialogues. I deliver dialogues from my films but turn them around to support the candidate I am campaigning for.

For example...
"Aaj tumhari Basanti ki izzat ka sawal haiu2026 Aap apna vote (candidate's name) ko dekar Basanti ki Izzat rakh lou2026(Please vote for this candidate to support your Basanti)." This always works. People still see me as Basanti and love me for being a movie star.

Does the party miss Atal Bihari Vajpayee's presence?
We all miss Vajpayeeji but he is very unwell.

Talking about prime ministers, if you had to choose one among these three, who would you support to lead the nation - Jayalalithaa, Mayawati or Sonia Gandhi?
(Laughs) It's difficult to say but I think I would support Jayalalitha because she was my colleague in films. Or may be we could design a system where all the three would take charge for three months each. The BJP too has leaders like Sushma Swaraj, who can be prime ministers.

Do you see yourself as a prime ministerial candidate?
No. I don't dream so big. I am not so ambitious. I prefer to campaign for others.

If you had to choose between Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh as prime minister...
Rahulji is young and dynamic but he is not mature and experienced enough to be the prime minister yet. But he has encouraged the Indian youth to join politics. And that is very good. Youngsters should join politics to see how the system and we work.

Dharamji (Dharmendra) isn't contesting the Lok Sabha polls this year. He has also been accused of not having served his constituency Bikaner?
Dharamji has served people but doesn't tom-tom his achievements. He was never interested in contesting the polls but obeyed party orders. I think he should have started his political career as a Rajya Sabha member. Coming from the film industry, we are outsiders in the political war-room. The Rajya Sabha is relatively docile and there is less pressure on the leader to perform. So we are more comfortable as Rajya Sabha members. Once we make friends there, it's easier to contest a Lok Sabha election.

Don't you think, if Esha (Esha Deol) had joined you on the campaign trail, she would have more impact on voters?
She would have come, if I was contesting.

Hema's tiffin box
Hema Malini carries a cool box filed with fruits, water and juices as she crisscrosses the breadth of the country. Hopping from one public rally to another, she always runs a thorough background check on the leader she is supporting.