No Less Ravishing

Two decades since her ‘mast mast’ days, Raveena Tandon feels she’s at the peak of her powers.

- Sanjiv Nair

The shoot of a prime time reality television show is in session inside the belly of a Film City studio that seems large enough to accommodate an Egyptian pyramid. On the set, an amphitheatre of colours that would suit a royal wedding, stands a little girl performing her tiny heart out. At her feet lies a makeshift crowd, as responsive to cues as Pavlovian pets, and then there is the throne of the three judges.

Raveena Tandon, at their centre, is clad in gold, from toe to tresses, dishing out advice with humour and relish. As the little girl ratchets up the cute quotient, Raveena, quite obviously the pharaoh queen of proceedings here, despite the presence of two other stars, runs along the ramp overwhelmed. She hugs the little girl making the crowd go wild, the parents beam and the tiny girl disappears within the silken fabric of her golden poncho. But wait. A quick consult with the show’s production crew provides an alternate more emotional tweak to the take. The little girl keys into their instructions with all the understanding of her tender years and the scene is reshot. Spontaneity, tailored with a bit of choreography much like this reality show, sums up the Raveena Tandon of 2017, who in her own words, is currently, “at the peak of (her) powers. Maybe.”