I’ll cook roti, vegetables for my children: Pamela Anderson (Interview)

LONAVALA - She wore a sari, bindi, jhumkas and bangles, danced to Bollywood numbers and even grasped a few Hindi words. But, of all the things that former “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson did in India, she is most excited about having learnt to cook rotis and vegetables, Indian style!

Anderson, who was here on a three-day visit to be part of Colors’ reality show “Bigg Boss 4″, also learnt how to knead the dough thanks to Pakistani actress Veena Malik. But she quips that she still has to master the art of making round rotis.

“I cooked rotis, but they were of really weird shapes. I think I’ll have to use scissors to shape them into proper circles. All of them were so perfect in making perfect circles. They were doing it with so much ease,” Anderson told IANS.

The 43-year-old star flew back to Los Angeles Friday night. She said she would want to treat her two children - Brandon, 14, and Dylan 13 - to an Indian meal as soon as possible.

“I am going to make rotis and vegetables when I get back to home. I have learnt to make mixed vegetables in Indian style with onions, garlic and ginger, crushed pepper and some masala and turmeric…I have got the list of spices and I am sure I am going to find them.

“I’m a vegetarian, you know…and there are so many ways to roast and steam vegetables. I bake them, I roast them and steam them but this is a totally different way. There are so many flavours into it. Not that my kids can have spicy food, but they will like a dish with new spices,” added Anderson.

For her entry on the show, the usually skimpily dressed Anderson chose to wear a white Ashley Rebello sari, and looked resplendent after teaming it with a sexy blouse. She even packed up some Indian garments to take home.

“I am taking some saris with me. The channel guys were very kind and they gave me two saris. I also wore an Ashley Rebello lehenga-choli for one of the days and I am also taking that with me. I wear these kinds of similar things, but not in such beautiful fabrics. I am also taking three sarongs and a churidar-kurta set. I feel Indian drapes are very beautiful, very feminine,” she said.

While she was in the “Bigg Boss 4″ house, Anderson got a taste of Bollywood and learnt to dance on Madhuri Dixit’s popular number “Dhak dhak karne lagaa”. Once she was out of the show, she even gyrated to “Bigg Boss 4″ host Salman Khan’s chartbuster “Munni badnaam hui”.

She told IANS she won’t mind being a part of the Indian film industry.

“I think it would be fun to work in Bollywood. My decisions are always around my children. How long to be away or what’s going on in their life, their school or their sports - they are first and if anything falls okay into their schedule, it happens for me. I think if you prioritise your life, good things happen,” said Anderson.

Now Anderson is eager to come back on an extensive Indian tour with her children.

“It was nice to come here. I am happy that I could come here for a bit. Of course, I wanted to stay long, but because of my children, I have to get home. Once I bring them here, I want to wander, travel around, trek, go to Goa, see Taj Mahal.

“Since I have tasted India, it has aroused my interest more in the country. I will go back home and think about it. And I am going to come back for sure,” said Anderson.

(Dibyojyoti Baksi can be contacted at dibyojyoti.b@ians.in)