Boney talks about Sridevi’s painting and Salman's villainous act

Two days after Sridevi’s painting Thoughts, valued at $50,000, went under the hammer at Christie’s, someone had already bid for it for a whopping $40,000! Ask hubby Boney Kapoor if he’s expecting the painting to be auctioned for much more than 50,000 dollars, and he laughs, “Not unless there’s a mad rush to grab it!” And then goes on to rationalise, “I can tell you though, it happens... Anyway, it’s for a good cause, the proceeds will go to charity.” 

And while Sri is very happy (“why not?” as Boney puts it), it’s Boney and the children who’re “delighted at this kind of appreciation for her work.“This is the first time she’s displayed her work. Earlier, she’s only made paintings for our house. She’s given out only three paintings: one to Salman, one to my sister in Delhi and one to Manish Malhotra. And this is the first work of hers to be displayed in public,” says Boney, adding, “Of course, in our house, my mother insisted that only her paintings should be put up; we have about four or five canvases in our house.” 

So did Sri start painting only after she quit acting? “No, she always had an artistic bent,” says Boney. “When she was doing our film Mr India, she would sketch her 

costumes and show them to the costume designer. She used to paint, but it was on pause mode after she got married and got busy taking care of the children. It was only during the making of Wanted that the entire thing was ignited again.” Apparently, Salman was the one who gently pushed Sridevi to pick up the paintbrush again. 

While Sri has not trained under anybody, she has drawn inspiration from a friend and well known artist – Subhash Awchat. “She considers him her mentor,” says Boney.“We have a very,very good rapport.In fact,she’s been pushed into this by him. And Salman.” 

Talking about Salman, it’s only natural that we ask Boney about the sequel to Mr India, in which Salman is reported to be playing the villain. “It’s too early to talk about that,” says Boney. “We don’t want the brand to be diluted. We are working on the script for Mr India 2, but right now, I want to keep things under wraps.” What he is willing to tell us is that Sri and Anil Kapoor will be part of the sequel. “Most definitely! She is an integral part of Mr India. The film belongs to her. She’s the producer. And she and Anil will have a major part in the sequel,” he says. And Salman will be replacing Amrish Puri, is it? “Not replacing... You see, when you see these superhero flicks, the villain keeps on changing. It’s not necessary that he’ll do a Mogambo. He’ll play a negative part,” he replies. Of course, the challenge would be to come up with a character that can match up to Mogambo. But as if to counter that challenge, he says, “And we’re going to have a young pair too!”