Khushboo reveals all about her survival instincts

After all the fire fighting, Khushboo is still left with a lot of that fire it takes to face 22 criminal cases and win a battle of self expression. Kavita Shanmugam stokes the embers.

She strolled into the living room of her palatial bungalow in Chennai in a fetching beige raw silk sari done up in pretty white and pink kantha work. A huge red bindi adorns her fair forehead. Khushboo, who hit 40 this year, is still every bit the sexy, confident, been-there-done-that kind of woman, entirely comfortable in her skin. 

We get a peek of the heart and peacock tattoos on her back and arm, as she turns to talk to her husband and actor Sundar C, who  had us entertained with Tamil movie banter in the meanwhile. 

But we didn’t have to wait for long. Khushboo’s tattoos are vying for attention again. They are such a reflection of her unconventional personality, her independent fiery spirit, which might be difficult to rein in, as two small local political parties in the state recently found out to their dismay.

Back in 2005, the Pattali Makkal Katchi and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi had hauled her to court for ostensibly encouraging pre-marital sex through her remarks in an interview with India Today. But the Supreme Court quashed all 22 criminal cases filed against her due to lack of strong evidence to support the accusations.

Basking in her victory against the “hypocritical moral brigade” (in her words), Khushboo these days is a picture of relaxed confidence. 

“I won because there was no basis in their accusations,” Khushboo begins this conversation as we broach the subject. “Nowhere had I said it was fine to indulge in pre-marital sex. I have two daughters. I would not say something like that. All I had said was if you are involved in pre-marital sex, you must take precautions.” But a Tamil daily misconstrued her statements and published a rather twisted version of what she had originally said. According to Khushboo, some people used this to their own advantage. 

How different were her remarks on pre-marital sex from what is taught in schools as sex education today? She smiles wryly not rising to the bait smartly, and replies, “Everybody knows pre-marital sex is happening but they prefer to turn a blind eye. In fact, even as many people congratulated me for winning, they also said my views were debatable and disagreeable.”

But she is far from being affected by all this. “It doesn’t bug me,” she smiles. Khushboo has had her fair share of personal scandals rocking her life. “I am only against anyone trying to stop me from having my opinion. I want my freedom of expression,” she is firm. Her basic right to speak freely is what the Supreme Court judgement stood by, she admits. And, what if the judgement had not swung in her favour? “I would have sat in the middle of the road in front of India Gate or Supreme Court until I got justice,” she responds to that. No two ways about it! 

She’s spunky and she’s bold and brazen. Take it or leave it! “If young  people should not use condoms then who should use the ones promoted by the government? Are condoms meant only for married people who indulge in extra-marital affairs?”

People who took her on obviously overlooked Khushboo’s fighting spirit. After all, this actor, who had arrived in Chennai in the 80s (with a mother and three brothers in tow) had made it to the top all on her own. She had started her acting career as a child artiste in Mumbai. Having been paired with all the leading heroes of her time from Rajnikanth to Arjun, she has earned much popularity and acclaim including state awards for her films - Chinna Thambi, Kolangal and Pathini. 

”People targeted me because I’m an actor and an intelligent woman,” she finds. “But they forgot I’m a survivor. I have a strong survival instinct.” In her four-year-battle with her detractors, was there a time when she did break down? She reminisces, “Yes, once I could not take my daughter Avanti, who was suffering from high dengue fever, to the hospital because 2,000 people had parked themselves outside my house and she had to be treated at home with IV drips. I could not bear to see my daughter in that state and I broke down.” This could have made anyone else crumble but not Khushboo, whose determination to fight kept her going.  

Today, she has pushed out all the ugly memories of that time and is reveling only in the congratulatory messages flowing in. She seems large-hearted enough to forgive the crowds who had gathered outside the Mettur court, armed with rotten eggs and tomatoes, being misled by some hypocrites. Or even look back on days hiding to avoid jail as an experience. It was not as if the relentless hounding did not affect her. Her producers had to suffer a setback when her Tamil movie Vetrivel with Sathyaraj was blocked. Kalyani Silks store, for whom she had done a commercial were under threat too.