Mir Hosts Sreelekha, June, Swastika and Agnimitra at the Rawdon Street kafe bindass! chat. Pictures by Aranya Sen

Mir: They say ‘sex is taboo’, and actress Tabu thinks, ‘why is my name sex? If that is so, then what’s my elder sister Farah?!’ Is sex really taboo?

Swastika: I don’t think so. My parents never told me not to talk about it. We are all mature people...

Mir: So, how often do you talk about sex?

Sreelekha: We do it all the time. It is the most pertinent and prevailing factor in our lives. I don’t think sex is an issue anymore. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.

June: I am talking a lot about sex these days as I am trying to educate my children... so that they know the right from wrong.

Agnimitra: My son is just seven. So I can’t really talk about sex education with him. But yes, I agree with Sreelekha that it is very open these days.

Sreelekha: We are representing a particular section of society, we are very open about what we are discussing. But I know women who have never even had an orgasm!

June: That’s true...

Mir: How would you define sex in a line?

Sreelekha: It’s in the mind.
June: Awesome!
Swastika: I miss it now!
Agnimitra: Essential.

Compliment? we love it more from women...

Mir: ‘Sexy’ is a compliment that most of you are used to getting from men...

Sreelekha: A woman can compliment a woman. She might find another woman sexy. It is not always that we seek appreciation from men. I watch women more than men and I am a straight person.

June: We don’t feel lost if men don’t compliment us.

Mir: When your partner is looking away, do you ogle other men?

Swastika: I do. Of course, I do!

Sreelekha: I rate them. Actually, I used to do it when I was in college. It was by their sheer physical appearance, their rawness.

Mir: Agnimitra, you meet so many men and they compliment you on being sexy...

Agnimitra: Not really. I come across the word ‘sex’ more when I am with my clients. They want ‘sexy’ outfits...

Girl talk

Mir: But do women discuss sex more than men? When men get together, they usually don’t talk about their sexual escapades...

June: I agree. It’s part of being a woman, of growing up. I remember when I was young I was very curious about sex and, of course, we had our little girlie sessions and we used to look up everything possible! Even now, I don’t see my son getting as inquisitive as my daughter.

Sreelekha: Girls are more mature.

June: Men are also shy when it comes to discussions.

Mir: Sometimes, it is also about gossip. How good he was or how lousy he was...

Sreelekha: I cannot ask anybody how he (her man) was in bed.

Mir: You just said that you rated men. Why can’t you go into the performance area?

Sreelekha: It is too personal.

Swastika: I have had friends who have broken up with their boyfriends citing incompatibility but after downing a couple of pegs came out with the truth — ‘He was a disaster in bed!’

Agnimitra: I think men discuss women and sex more than women do when they get together because they are more open about all these things, like sending jokes and emails. I think it is the opposite. Women don’t come out that easily.

Kiss and tell

Mir: June and Sreelekha, there are certain clips of yours on YouTube which show you smooching men. And these have got some five lakh hits! Does it give you a high or embarrass you?

June: When I first heard about it, I was very depressed. There is a clip from (Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s) Mondo Meyer Upakhyan, which had me, Sreelekha and Sudipta. I feel it’s very humiliating, especially for actors and directors. People looked me up on Google and that came out.

Sreelekha: It creates a wrong notion about a particular actor. European and Hollywood films are so open about their sexuality and there is no taboo about going nude. Here there are so many obstacles. Being an actor, I think this is our shortcoming. A friend of mine had once called me to ask if I had done soft porn! I was like, ‘Porn! Why?’ Then I remembered that I had done a diploma project of SRFTI called Y2K, directed by Chandril. It was a very bold film. Ronnie (Rajatava Datta) and I had a scene where it seemed as if we were engaged in oral sex, and people thought I had done a porn film. But I guess it is part of being a celebrity.

Mir: One thing about Calcutta that turns you on?

Sreelekha: The smell of the city.
June: The sheer warmth of the city. Calcutta is the only woman who turns me on. She is tilottama, right?
Swastika: The lights on the second Hooghly bridge.
Agnimitra: Same as June — the warmth of the people.

Mir: So Swastika, how do you prepare for a scene where you’ll have to kiss the hero?

Swastika: There is nothing to prepare.

Mir: You just go and do it?

Swastika: Well, there are 60 men looking at you on the set. So, it is very technical. You have to take the right camera angle, the light, and make sure that your hair is not falling on your face and your clothes are okay...

Mir: It’s a techni kiss!

Swastika: In Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Janala, the kissing shot was taken 17 times! I was going on putting my lipstick every time a shot was cancelled. It became tiring and boring towards the end. My only condition to do a smooch scene is that my co-actor shouldn’t be having raw onions at lunch. That’s all!

Sreelekha: In Ek Mutho Chhobi, there was this steamy scene where model Anando was opposite me. It was his first movie and he was calling me Sreelekhadi! I was like, ‘For the time being, push the ‘di’ aside and think of me as your girlfriend and let’s just do it.’ The kissing scene went off very well. And then there was a love-making scene. The director shooed everyone away from the room, which only made Anando more self-conscious. He then asked us to do it the way we thought it would work best. Now, Anando asked me, ‘Should I do push-ups?’ Can you imagine?! I called in the director and said it was up to him to explain whether the actor would be doing push-ups or sit-ups!

Feeling sexy, looking sexy

Mir: Agnimitra, you go to a lot of these parties where people air-kiss a lot. Do you enjoy the muah muah muah?

Agnimitra: No... I am not comfortable with it. If I see someone coming towards me, I somehow maybe dodge him.

Mir: Have there been times when you look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Today I am looking sexy and I am going to wow the world!’ Do women say this to themselves?

Agnimitra: It doesn’t really happen that way. I feel good but I don’t get the time to think whether I am looking sexy or beautiful.

Swastika: I always feel good. I always feel that I am looking wow! I never make any outfit faux pas and men always tell me that I look good.

June: I am a very moody person. It is sometimes difficult for my loved ones to adjust to my moods. I feel sorry for them. But it’s me! There are days when I wake up and I am like, ‘No, not again. Ten hours of my day gone in the studio with all the sweat and grime!’ And then there are days when I take a break with my family or I am looking forward to an evening out with my loved one. That’s when I tell myself, ‘Hey, you are looking sexy! Let’s rock it!’

Mir: Agnimitra, what makes a dress sexy?

Agnimitra: For me, it all depends on the person who is wearing it. You have to be able to carry whatever you are wearing. Often people come to me to make them outfits like those worn by Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif or Bipasha Basu but they don’t understand that it wouldn’t look good on them. I have to explain that to them.

Sreelekha: Every person needs to know their limitations. Be yourself.

Mir: The sexiest lady you’ve seen?

Agnimitra: Sushmita Sen. And Priyanka Gandhi.
Swastika: June. She looks awesome!
June: Maharani Gayatri Devi. I pray that I age as gracefully as her. And Moon Moon. She’s still the sexiest lady in Calcutta!
Sreelekha: Simi Garewal, Rekha and Sonia Gandhi.

Dream man

Mir: Give me an honest confession. When you are not with your husbands or partners, who’s the one man you fantasise?

Sreelekha: It keeps changing from time to time. The sex appeal may lie in the way a man looks or talks. I used to find Hugh Grant quite sexy. And I once upon a time had a crush on you! But there is really a dearth of men around.

June: For me, it has always been George Clooney and Jude Law in my fantasy-land.

Swastika: I look at other men even when my partner is with me. Why wouldn’t I?

Agnimitra: For me, it has always been Amitabh Bachchan and Richard Gere.

t2 reader Neeraj Kapoor floored the ladies with his moves and put forth the t2 poser for them.

Neeraj: So, what do you ladies think — are Calcutta’s women sexier than its men?

Swastika: There is a dearth of good-looking men in the city. There is no doubt about that.
Sreelekha: Yes, Calcutta’s women are more sexy than its men.
June: There aren’t any sexy men in Calcutta, bro!
Agnimitra: Calcutta’s women are more sexy than its men because they are a rare combination of big eyes, great hair, great skin and great brains!