How does it feel to win the Best Actor award at the New York Indian Film Festival?
I feel validated.In Mrs. case, the team and I have gotten a boost of confidence now. We have done another couple of film festivals and the response has been really good. Director Aarti Kadav attended the Tallinn Film Festival, and the audience there really liked the film and performances. Of course, New York has been great too. Sadly, I wasn’t there at the festival to celebrate the premiere. Our producer Harman Baweja was there and the feedback he got for the film has given us all a sense of confidence. We are really looking forward to the release in India.How does a festival run help for a film like Mrs.?
For a producer and director, it’s a completely different game altogether. But as an actor, I feel good when a story like Mrs. is travelling. It carries a universal feeling that a lot of women go through not only in India, but other parts of the world where doing a household chore is considered an easy job or a job which is not appreciated enough or it has no value whatsoever. I think the story carries a nice message.
Sanya Malhotra grooves to Diljit Dosanjh’s song ‘Kinni Kinni’
How did the film come to you?
It came to be three years ago. I got a call from my agent. She told me that Harman Baweja has got the rights to adapt The Great Indian Kitchen and they were considering me to play the lead character. I was very excited. I read the script adaptation and met director Aarti. I fell completely in love with the script. The message that the film carries resonated with me as an actor and spoke to me on a very deep level and I said yes to it.
Have you met ladies like the character you play in Mrs.?
Yes, of course. It is a common feeling that a lot of women feel. While we were prepping for it, we interviewed a lot of women. Someone very close to me has experienced something very similar as the character. She is out of that marriage though. She graciously shared her therapy notes. Listening to these experiences inspired me to play the character. In my house, there’s an expectation for women to be doing the household chores. It is a life skill to know how to cook and clean. It is not only a woman’s duty.
How do you make your choices of doing films?
I don’t have a process or method to my madness. But I do listen to my intuition. I consider myself to be fortunate to get these opportunities. I know that I am going to give my 200% to any project that I take up. I have that confidence in me as an actor and I have proven myself through my performances. I feel fortunate that producers feel confident enough to give me these roles. Whenever I am picking up a character, it’s always about what the film is about, whether I am getting drawn to the character naturally or not. There’ s a gut a feeling.
You had told me that you had given yourself a deadline to make it in Mumbai and if you couldn’t, then you’d go back to Delhi…
I’m not going back anytime soon. Maybe I’ll stay in Delhi and work in Mumbai. Because my parents are in Delhi and I keep visiting them whenever I can.
I feel happy with how things are going for me. It’s kind of unbelievable. I have always been comfortable of letting go off things. My job teaches me non-attachment. I think it is my personality and works for me very well. After doing a film, you let go off the character you played in the film as well as you let go off the people you worked with. You start working with new people on a new film. I am constantly travelling. My job teaches me to have no attachment and with time and experience that non-attachment is getting stronger.
I used get very anxious around the release of my films. But things kind of changed with Meenakshi Sundareshwar. I was not ready to let my character go. I remember crying to my director that I was not ready to let go off the character. I was in love with the character. When the film was releasing, there was a sense of heaviness in me, “Oh, this film is not mine anymore.” So, my director told me, “This is not ours anymore. We did whatever we could. Now, it is the audiences’ film.” So, my attachment with the releases has also gone now. I enjoy my film releases.
How do you look at the Box Office fate of the film after its release?
It is important. But it is not in my control. So, why fret over it? I will miss out on the fun if I start worrying about the fate of the film. When I am doing a film, I have a feeling that this character or the film will work very well. I don’t know how. Mehnat ka phal humesha meetha hota hai. And I have experienced this from my first film which set the tone for my career.
How is Atlee (Jawan) as a director and producer?
He comes with a sense of ease on set. I love such environment where it is getting decided on set what is going to be done. As an actor, your brain is working. You get lots of ideas and he lets you do all of that.
Is there a director like Atlee (the way he functions) in the Hindi film industry?
It is difficult but I think he’s a little similar to Anurag Basu. Both are flowy on set. They know what they want from their actors.
How was it working with Vicky Kaushal in Sam Bahadur and Varun Dhawan in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari?
Both of them are wonderful actors. I was in awe and inspired to see Vicky on set as Sam Manekshaw. He had completely transformed into Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw. It was an inspiring experience to work with an actor like Vicky and I hope I get to work with him again. There was so much that I could learn by being on set with him. As for Varun, he is spontaneous and incredible at what he does.
And Anurag Kashyap?
I am having the best time working with him. I feel so fulfilled after a working day with him. I feel that I have done something good today. I wanted to be like a sponge and absorb as much as I can from the people on his set who are so passionate about cinema and so good at what they do. Anurag Kashyap is very easy and chill on set.
What is your take on the way Sharmin Segal was trolled for Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar?
It is definitely not nice to be mean to somebody. Nobody should be subject to bullying.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I do not plan my future. I can’t see what’s in store for me in future. I enjoy what I do. Not a lot of outsiders get an opportunity to be in a place where I am as an actor. I feel very blessed and also satisfied with how my career is going on right now. I don’t know about the future. I have stopped planning or setting goals for myself. I want to live in the moment. And this moment right now everything looks very good for me. Touchwood, last year has been really good. My films before that have been received well by the audience and the industry. I feel very satisfied and fulfilled.
