You have worked in many films and played different characters. How difficult and interesting has this been for you?
My high is really living a different life. I’m just grateful that I got to play really different characters so far. I hope that I will continue to do so in future also. As a person, I just get bored living the same life. I think that’s the only reason I became an actor. Because I don’t like living Radhika’s life 24*7. So, it has been really satisfying and exciting yet very challenging. So I hope I keep presenting a different color to the audience every time.
You disclosed that you auditioned for Karan Johar‘Student of the Year’ didn’t get selected, but that didn’t stop you from looking for other roles…
The reason I didn’t get SOTY was because I had given the worst audition of my life. Nobody would have liked that audition, I’m pretty sure. So it was the worst audition of my life and I take responsibility for it, I will not blame anyone for it. I just made a promise to myself while leaving that office that I would never worry about any project. I just want to enjoy those two minutes, be as honest as you can, have as much fun as you can. In those two minutes, I would live that character even if I didn’t get that project. And two weeks later, I got the audition for ‘Pataakha’ and I knew Vishal (Bhardwaj) sir was making it. I kept telling myself, ‘Just live that life for two minutes’. This has been my mantra for every audition. It has worked great for ‘Pataakha’ and ‘Angrezi Medium’ and even for my auditions so far. So, that blow was really important, for me to realize the point.
You recently said that you have been asked to undergo surgery to look beautiful on screen. What was your reaction when you were asked to do so?
I realized at a very young age that people want to feed off their insecurities to you. It is up to you how you see the world and how you see yourself. This is really important. You also put insecurities in people because you want to be a notch higher than them and be like, ‘Oh, I’m in a position to tell you that you’re not pretty’. But not really, I am the one who is in a position to tell myself whether I am beautiful or not. I don’t want any external validation. So, I was like, ‘My work will speak for me’ and I consider myself really beautiful, and that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter what shape and size I am, and what my nose looks like, what my jaw looks like. I was like, ‘Ugh! That’s not true,’ and went on.
are you in love with someone?
Not now. But, I have fallen in love with my life. I love what I’m doing right now. I was in a relationship, a really long one. But, we recently broke up and that’s okay. Right now, I’m really enjoying my life and I think it’s really important for you to fill yourself up and then offer it to someone else instead of taking it for granted. So if my cup is full and the other person’s cup is full, only then can we be in a relationship.
What according to you keeps a relationship healthy?
I need to be okay with who I am. I need to be happy with myself. Only then will I be able to give something to the other person and I will be able to share my happiness with the other person. It’s not the other way around… It’s not like I’ll meet a person and that person will complete me. You need to be complete in yourself and the other person needs to be complete in yourself. Only then, it will be a healthy relationship and you will just share that love and happiness.
Are you ready to date an actor?
Of course, at the end of the day everyone is people, no matter what profession you are in. I am also an actor. That’s why I don’t want to demean an actor by saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be in a relationship with an actor’.
who inspires you the most Bollywood?
A lot of people in fact, Vidya (Balan), even Kangana (Ranaut), Alia (Bhatt). She has paved the way for all the young actresses and she is truly inspirational. When I watch his movies, I think, ‘I want to do that’. I hope someday I will be able to present the same to the audience.
How do you deal with criticism when your films don’t do well at the box office or OTT?
Look, my victory is in the process. Mine is in high process. If I have played a character with utmost sincerity and have given my 200%, then my work is done. Whatever happens after that is fine. I’m not really attached to the outcome of this. For me it is the journey and not the destination. So, if people like it, the cherry on the cake, and if they don’t like it, it’s up to them, that’s fine. Everyone has their own freedom of expression and I was fine with that because I just wanted to live the character and I lived it. And here is my victory.
What upcoming projects are you working on?
The next project I can talk about is ‘Shiddat’ from the makers of ‘Angrezi Medium’. I have just finished shooting for it. I am really excited to share this with the audience. I hope they get to see a different look of me and they like it. There are other projects in the pipeline as well that I can’t talk about, but I expect the announcements to come out soon.
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