Nushrratt Bharuccha on being Busan Film Fest nom: I’ve not had many nominations, this is gratifying

Nushrratt Bharuccha is on cloud nine after becoming the only Indian female actor to bag a nomination in the Best Actress category at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Content Awards 2021. The actor, who received this nod for her segment Khilauna in anthology film, Ajeeb Daastaans, calls it rather an unbelievable feat.

“I honestly couldn’t believe and I actually went online to check the official site. I needed to be double sure that I got that right. It’s surreal,” she shares.

On being asked what does an international recognition mean to her as an actor, and what does she expect it would do to her career, Bharuccha says she hasn’t really had a lot of nominations to be able to fathom it.

“I’ve won just one award for best comedy for Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011). That’s all. I’ve never kind of understood the whole award process. I truly believe that we do what we do, and the audience love or they don’t love you. And then I get this nomination, it’s quite gratifying,” says the 36-year-old.

Opening up about how she became a part of do an anthology film, the actor says it was a decision that stemmed from her heart as she really connected with the script of her short.

“I remember it was just this short film and I liked the script a lot and I liked the director (Raj Mehta) as well as Abhishek Banerjee and I was like, ‘Isko karke maza ayega’. We shot this in 2019 before the OTT had become this huge as it’s now. So, for me, it was just a short film with which we were pushing the envelope. And I left it at that thinking there’s nothing more to gain from it,” she says.

Bharuccha believes it was only after playing Meenal, a housemaid, in the film that people started acknowledging her acting chops.

“Now, I’m talked about as an actor, which for me was shocking because I’ve done a whole lot of different characters and roles in every film. But I guess when you do something completely out of your image, people start seeing you differently. Time will tell what people will think of me after this (nomination),” says the actor who has to her credit films such as Chhalaang (2020), Dream Girl (2019) and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018).