You are now a mother of three wonderful children. How has motherhood changed you as a creative person and an artist? Have you noticed any change in your creative choices since becoming a mom?
I don’t think being a mother has anything to do with change or dramatic changes. If anything, for some reason, the projects that have come my way over the past three years, for example Anamika, have been different and wonderful. Being a mother all I have to do is set my professional commitments as per my commitments as a mother. I feel like I’ve become more self-aware too.
Do you change your creative decisions to take into account how your children will react to your work a few years from now?
no not really. I have to focus on myself, and what I want to do, or grow as an actor. If I am happy, I believe that my children will be happy. They will respect my decisions as an adult. They are too young to see or understand the projects I have shot so far. For example, there is violence in the ring finger.
But, I must admit that I made a mistake when I showed the trailer of Anamika to my kids. We have a no-gun policy in the house, even a pitched gun or toy gun is not allowed in the house. I try and focus on having an anti-violence approach to my kids. When the kids saw the trailer, they had a lot of questions about how to use a gun. (laughs)
You have worked hard to change your image as an actor. Despite giving your best in a project, you are often written off as the ‘glam quotient’. Has it been challenging to break out of that identity?
Despite so many interviews and everything I’ve done so far, I’ve never tried to break or change anything. I have focused only on development. You grow as a person as you grow up, or as time goes by, or as you spend a certain amount of time in the industry. I think a lot of the projects that came my way were also a sign of growth. Because, maybe some filmmaker or producer saw something in me. having said that, Vikram Sir, I must have noticed something in me, so I am amazed by the opportunity to work in Anamika. I mean, every single person in the film industry should have a number on their phone. Still, he called me for Anamika.
Whatever stardom and fame you have achieved, you have always been grounded…
I guess, part of it is because I’m always grateful and grateful every day that I got a chance to work and do what I love. There are some wonderful people around me who make sense to me from time to time, and keep me grounded and in control. I never believed in being mean or cruel towards people. Because you’re going to see the same people all the time. People often say that Bollywood industry is so big, there are so many people, but it is not true. It is a close by. Everybody knows everything. And if you remain empathetic and kind, it will always come back to you in good ways. I don’t let fame get to me.
In a stand-up video, you mentioned how desperate the media has been to get a sensational headline from you at times. Over the years, have you become cautious about what you speak?
Well, I was not very careful about that stand-up comedy show (laughs). The problem is, you never know what people’s intentions are, and if they’re evil and their intention is to write something untrue or sensational, you can’t really do anything about it. It doesn’t matter whether you see what they say or not. I speak what I want to say, not what the media wants to hear.
You are quite adept at dealing with negativity and trolls on social media.
It was not like this before. There have been a few incidents where I think the digital world and social media have confused me, but in the end, you have to explain why that person would say something like that. You have to understand that, they are not just saying things about you, they say such things to everyone. Over time, I have become resistant and don’t bother with social media. I have explained it in a scientific way, on a psychological level, how and why all this happens.
Once your Bollywood career started you went through trials and errors and somewhere, it was finding it challenging for you to gain mainstream acceptance. Almost a decade later, how do you view your journey?
As I said, you grow and grow as a person. When we came to India for the first time, Daniel And I, when I first started working, we had no one, or any mentor or support. And that’s okay, we’re outsiders. We came into this world and started working.
What really worked in my favor was to just keep working and be consistent. I just kept saying yes to projects, whether they worked or not didn’t matter to me. If the audience is ready to watch, if there is any curiosity or if people are willing to give me that chance, then definitely something will work. It was really challenging in the beginning, but I was always stubborn.
Being successful comes with its share of rejections and ups and downs. How did you get through the tough times, keep your spirits high, and lift yourself up again?
There are moments when you realize – I’m never going to work with this type of person, brand or shoot for that magazine. But one thing, that both Danielle and I believe is – if an opportunity isn’t going to come to me, I’m just going to go out and grab it. Daniel and I do just that. We forge our own path, and as such, it has worked for us. I am happy to be out of my comfort zone.
For the most part, Danielle and you have been an almost perfect couple, balancing your personal and professional commitments. Has it ever got heavy?
I feel like I’m getting more frustrated than Danielle. That’s because when I’m out for work, I want to see the kids and I miss them and I want their pictures and videos all day long. I have more separation anxiety than my kids. But yes, we are quite adept at managing time and ensure that there is enough time to spend with the family.
What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself a decade ago?
The only advice I want to give to the younger generation is that you have to work hard. You have to give time. You cannot think that the result will come overnight. It is extremely rare that you can shoot yourself and become a star overnight. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into getting recognized. In the film industry no effort goes in vain or unnoticed. In the end, every effort is always worth it.
Coming back to my show Anamika with MX Player, director Vikram Bhatt Known for creating suspenseful shows with murder and mystery. As an actor, did you face any challenge in getting hold of the story?
I think when you have a well written story, you are able to understand things better. Vikram sir puts so much effort into every shot, every scene how we are going to shoot it, even the dialogues, he was there every second, making sure he gets the best out of us. He really caught the best of me as an actor.
Anamika portrays you as an out-and-out action hero. It shows how different and strong women can be. Being a part of the project, what was your biggest takeaway?
I think it was great to get a chance to shoot such a show. Because I’ve never done anything in this genre or with so much craziness. I have done action in small pieces in the past too, but not on a large scale. The experience of working with Vikram sir and his guidance in helping me bring out the best and push myself forward as an actor has been a huge learning curve. In real life, I am nothing like Anamika and hence understanding her sensibilities was a new challenge. That was fun.
