She was a lot more than just the casting director of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. And now the self-effacing multi-talented Loveleen Tandon has suddenly become an internationally known name.
Proof of it now lies in the fact that she has made it into the super-prestigious Women’s Impact Report 2009 of Variety magazine, which lists 50 women who in the words of Variety, ‘experienced an extraordinary year.’
.JPG "Loveleen Tandan at Roopa Vohra charity fashion show in Taj Land_s End on 1st March 2009 (83)")
Loveleen didn’t even know about the honor until she got a midnight call from Anil Kapoor in Los Angeles.
“He asked me if I had seen it. I asked, seen what? He then told me I’m on the cover of Variety magazine as an achiever of the year. The last issue had featured my favorite actress Meryl Streep. He said he had bought two copies and was mailing me one. That was honestly sweet of him.”
Interestingly Loveleen’s name occurs in the ‘Below The Liners’ section of Variety’s achievers where she features with fashion designers Catherine Marie Thomas and Janie Bryant.
“I think it’s a category that celebrates women who have crossed over from one field to another, like I did from casting director to co-director in Slumdog Millionaire.”
Loveleen wouldn’t be able to attend the Variety awards ceremony on Thursday. But she’s off to meet the Queen Of England and her husband the Duke Of Edinburgh.
Says the shy super-achiever,
“Yes I’ve been invited by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke to the Buckingham Palace on October 13. I wouldn’t miss that appointment for the world. But there’s a problem.”
Loveleen’s younger sister Amita is getting married on October 14.
“I don’t want to go to London now when the wedding celebrations are on full-swing in our family. But my sister is pushing me into it. She feels it’s an once-in-a-lifetime honor and I shouldn’t miss it. So I’m going, attending the invitation on 13 October and rushing back to Delhi just in time for the wedding on the 14th.”
Loveleen has almost finished the script for her first directorial undertaking.
“Of course it’s got strong women characters. But it has a lot of powerful men characters as well.”
— By Subhash K Jha
