I had no idea that Camilla would become such an iconic cameo. Even now, when young girls bump into me, they sing her background track, She Wants your Money! After a 16-hour flight from Mumbai to New York for the shoot, my bags did not arrive. I had no time to shop for clothes or essentials. By the time I got to the hotel, Karan’s (Johar) mother, Hiroo aunty, ensured my room had all that I might need — clothes, toiletries, skincare.

I can’t believe it has been 20 years [since the film released]! I have lovely memories associated with the film, which was anchored by Karan Johar. In fact, Karan was involved with my character to another level. He knew what my look would be, what colour my saree would be, how my hair will look, etc. He was guiding me throughout, even though he was not the director of the film. I still remember, when Saif Ali Khan got to know that I will play the role of his mother, he refused to believe it. I had to make him believe. As for the song Gujju, I think it worked because it was something fresh, funny and colourful.

Kal Ho Naa Ho was the biggest and the best thing that ever happened to my career. I am sure there were lots of people who wanted to be in my shoes, but I got the part and I am grateful for it. People still remember my character, despite the film featuring big names such as Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan. Sweetu is a character that will stay with me forever; it started my career in films. In school, Karan (Johar) and I were in the same age group. We were in different schools, but we used to participate in inter-school elocution competitions. When Karan introduced me to Shah Rukh, my hands were cold. I remember an incident when we were on the boat and my scarf got tangled, it was disturbing me. Shah Rukh effortlessly helped me and that made it to the final cut!

When I was offered the role, I thought I was entering the film industry at the age of 46 or something. As a supporting actor, you didn’t start your career at 46. My husband was like, ‘Don’t be silly, you are good at drama and emotion, and it is a fun group’. That’s when I decided to do it. We had a lot of fun making the film in New York. The biggest thing is that people still remember me for the line ‘jism ki bhook’. I don’t remember the lines, but whoever I meet remembers them. The makers asked me if I had seen Jism before I started rolling, and I hadn’t, but decided to do it my way. The best memory was working with Shah Rukh Khan. I didn’t have a big role, yet people remember me so well.