It’s been a year since actor Sara Ali Khan returned to doing interviews, and she’s dressed as if she’s at home, at ease. And that’s exactly how the conversation goes — easy, free flowing, with no reluctance on any subject, whether it’s about a previous film that didn’t do well, or her next, Atrangi Re.
“My films only release in December,” she jokes (her last film Coolie No 1 released in the same month in 2020). Excerpts from an interview with the 26-year-old:
You are back to the rustic, street smart girl zone after Kedarnath (2018), your debut. Was it deliberate, after urban-set films like Simmba (2018), Love Aaj Kal and Coolie No 1 (both 2020)?
I don’t believe in zones, or one is a commercial film or something else. I believe in the stories that I think deserve to be told. This (Atrangi Re) just so happened to come to me after a commercial film. Also, the thing is, with the kind of films I have been privileged to do, I haven’t chosen them, they have chosen me. (Filmmakers) Rohit Shetty, Imtiaz Ali, Aanand L Rai, how can you choose these people? You dream of these people, they choose you.
This film came to me at a time when I most needed it. I think the only good in my life in 2020 was Atrangi Re. Love Aaj Kal didn’t get love, it was not appreciated. Ten days after it flopped, I was on floors with Aanand ji, doing this film. On a personal level I feel because Sara’s confidence was low, Sara couldn’t drag Rinku (her character in Atrangi Re) down, or Rinku could have uplifted Sara. Rinku and Aanand ji together made Sara fall in love with Sara, Sara in love with Rinku and her work.
You shot this film amid many restrictions due to Covid. How different was the entire experience?
The first thing I shot for after the lockdown lifted was the song Chaka Chak. Restrictions and all are just a part of it, that’s just health and concern that we took, but the energy of a set especially after being locked inside for so long… realising and remembering what it is like to be on a set where everybody is doing their job, not because they have to but they want to is just beautiful.
Like your last release, Atrangi Re is heading again directly to an OTT platform. Did you have any apprehensions?
My initial reaction was feeling bad because I do films for the big screen, I believe in that experience. Then I also realised, for the lack of a better word, what the aukaat of an actor is. It’s not my decision. I love Aanand ji, he made me love myself when I didn’t love myself, so I am not one to suddenly question his thought process. Jo bhi kiya hoga, bauhaut soch samajh ke kiya hoga. Ultimately, for me it matters that you watch the film. If I reach more eyes, I win. As long as you can watch the film and have a smile, I am happy.
How was it working like with veterans such as Akshay Kumar and Dhanush for the first time in your career?
It was insane. I call Akshay sir Thalaivar of the North, because he has so much energy, spontaneity, and spark. Dhanush sir is an inspiration, an institution in acting. He’s a National Award-winning actor, he knows the camera like I know water. There was not a single day on set, where apart from being fun and creatively rewarding, it wasn’t a constant learning. If it was a seven to seven shift, and I had a pack up after lunch, I wouldn’t go back. I would sit and watch on the monitor, takes of Dhanush sir.
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