The Rediff Special / Varsha Bhosle

'I got screwed for the Michael Jackson concert'

We're at his home: a ridiculously average, middle-class, Marathi home. The aura is familiar: baba enters, Raj hides the cigarette; ma frowns, Raj gulps down the cold tea. I can't remember why I had wanted to spank him. Then, his wife - and son -- and daughter -- show up. Suddenly, Raj doesn't seem much of a lad - boyish, yes; incipient, no. I don't know where my Earth Mother's hiding.

He's still prickly sharp, brash, contemptuous, testy, and I cannot stress this enough: always aggressive. But the uneasiness has gone: Does he smell a conquest?

There are no game this time, and no speeches -- he's gauged the enemy. The replies are pithy and straight, the tone is controlled, and a smile's in place. I can't remember why I'd thought he was green. As he expands on the Shiv Udyog scheme, I search for a precedent -- I can't think why I'd thought his ideas were, well, lifted....

The Michael Jackson show:

Petitioning for tax-exemption is a normal course of entertainment business. Did anyone object to the exemption granted to the Bon Jovi concert? But since Raj Thackeray got one, qayaamat aa gai. Was I taking the money to paint my house? It was for a good cause, damn it -- to set up a trust for relieving unemployment. I didn't ask the government for money; I tried to raise it on my own -- and got screwed for it. The worst of it is, after all that trouble, I made this much (draws a circle in the air).

I explained everything about the Shiv Udyog to the press. They all listened -- and wrote the opposite. Someone from the Times called and informed me that it wasn't a charitable trust at all! Am I such an idiot? Don't I know that the media is just waiting to take me to the cleaners? So I sent them all my documents. They weren't published, and the attacks didn't stop.

Shiv Udyog Sanshtan:

Unemployment in this state must be eliminated by Maharashtrians themselves. Don't count on central grants and don't expect others to create openings for you -- self-sufficiency is the only way out. The youth of Maharashtra must engage in commerce with a vengeance.

When I saw the profile on Mumbai's gangsters, I felt the need most urgently. The trust will give a helping hand at that crucial point when young Maharashtrians are likely to stray because of berozgaari. And when I say 'Maharashtrians', I mean all Indians who have made this state their home for over 15 years. We have computerised offices in 30 districts, gathering a database of jobless youths, and as vacancies arise, we will provide employers with their details.

That apart, we will select those interested in business and teach them everything, from project reports to loan securing, and help them set up. Again, their employees, we'll provide -- and this will start a chain-reaction of development. Of course, Maharashtra Times instantly derided me by saying that did I think I was an economist, etc, but I'm getting used to the press now. And incidentally, there's no political hook attached to the service.

The Kini case:

I'm friendly with hundreds of people -- it's a part of political life -- and I happen to know Suman Shah. But that doesn't mean I know all his business: I had never seen Kini and I didn't even know about the tenant-landlord case. Look, Sharad Pawar is close to many industrialists, so if a union man is killed in an industrial strike, does it follow that Sharad Pawar had him bumped off?

That I touched Suman's father's feet is supposed to be a suspicious 'link'. Well, I'm always touching elders's feet: it's how I was reared. When our house was being renovated, we needed a place to stay and Suman offered to rent us a flat in the building. Balasaheb and Ma viewed it, but the deal fell though at the last minute. If Suman had to threaten Kini, why would he use just my name? Wait and see what emerges: I'm reserving it for the inquiries.

Chhagan Bhujbal:

He says he left the party because OBCs weren't getting justice. In 1990, he wanted to be leader of the Opposition, but Balasaheb didn't want a dramebaaz for the critical post, and appointed Manohar Joshi instead. Despite being given the mayorship of Mumbai, Bhujbal felt snubbed, and left. But because he was once in the Sena, people think that everything he utters against us must be the gospel truth.

Sanjay Dutt

Balasaheb always felt that an artist's life and career can get irreparably damaged by absence from work. If Sanjay is indeed involved, I say, hang him, but don't keep him hanging inside without proof.

This interview first appeared in The Sunday Observer, India's first Sunday newspaper.