Anushka
Sharma has achieved what very few actresses are able to in the world of
Bollywood, the ability to remain honest, real and secure. As Anurag
Kashyap's Bombay Velvet releases today, in which she plays the role of a
jazz singer Rosie, she talks to us about why she respects Ranbir
Kapoor, what keeps her secure and what made her cry on the set.
Excerpts: READ: Bombay Velvet: All you need to know about the film You worked with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time in Bombay Velvet. Talk about him.
Even though this is the first film that we have done together, we have
known each other for many years and there is always a sense of comfort
with him. We became friends and started hanging out and realised that we
hit it off well. We have a very easy kind of friendship that helped in
the film. When you see the chemistry in the film, you would have never
seen it before. When I read the script, I didn't know who the actor
would be, but I knew that whoever it would be, the chemistry needed to
be so easy and good. And Ranbir and me have that naturally with each
other. I feel very comfortable in his presence. I can't work with
someone just because someone is popular or loved. I have respect for
Ranbir for the kind of actor he is and also with what he has done with
his stardom. The kind of films he has picked up, empowering so many
movies that have got funded because of him. He has created that kind of
dependability that if it is a Ranbir Kapoor film, it must be good. Also,
he is very nice to people and treats everyone with equality. Often,
people think that it's okay to be treating people basis their position
or what they can give you. Because I am not like that with my dealings
and so is Ranbir not like that. He will always make people comfortable
around him, does not take himself too seriously and that is a beautiful
thing. He is very secure as an actor, has that faith in his directors
and according to me, Bombay Velvet is his best performance as an actor.
He has no inhibition, no judgement about
mai kaisa lagoonga and
there are no insecurities in him and it is so refreshing to see that. I
like working with such kind of people and I feel that actors should be
that way only.
You have now worked with some of the finest directors of Bollywood. Talk about working with Anurag Kashyap? What I appreciate about him is his ability to see normal things in a different way and presenting you like that. He is not
filmi
or predictable that way. Usually, when someone narrates you a script,
you are able to tell what is going to happen next. With Anurag, you
can't tell what is going to happen and I like that. With him, nothing
fazes him working on a set, given that the scale of this film is so
huge. Things do go wrong and people do lose their cool, but he takes
everything in his stride on the set. That is a great quality as you can
maintain your focus. He will bring out a different side of you and be it
Ranbir as Johnny Balraj or me as Rosie, they are both very different
from what we are in real lives.
Anurag told me you had
no insecurities as an actress even though you did not get to dance in
this film. I too have observed how you never plant a wrong story in the
media and don't run down your competitors. What makes you so secure?
I am secure as I don't have preconceived notions about things. I have
made my career and made a pretty successful career out of being the way I
am, so it works for me. As
actresses, we don't have the choices that a male actor has. So, with
limited choices, you try and make smart decisions and reinvent yourself
as an actor. So, I have done things that work for me.
I am very clear of what I want and that's why I don't have
insecurities. I don't have a target of how many releases I want in a
year. I didn't have a release for two years and I was fine with that and
in seven months, I have four releases and I am also fine with that. You
are as good as your last Friday. You don't have to be seen all the
time. You do one great film and you are again right up there, so for me,
it's only about doing good work and the problem is that I am saying
such a simple thing, but it sounds like a cliche as it has become like
that, but it is my ultimate truth. With every film, I would like you to
feel that this girl has outdone herself with her last film. I want you
to develop into a space where you know that if she is in that film, it
must be a good film. I want to be a bankable actor, but I have no
targets of being No 1, 2 or 3.
Anurag told me you and
Ranbir used to fight almost like siblings on set so much so that one
day, you actually started crying. What happened?
The
thing with Ranbir and me is that we are great buddies and it's true that
we do bicker like siblings. One particular day, I had to perform and he
was just annoying me. He kept saying, 'Why is your hand here? Why is
that there?' So I told him, 'Are you Anurag? Then just keep quiet.'
Ranbir knew that I was irritated with him, but when he realises that I
am getting irritated, he irritates you even more and I also know that he
is irritating me but I still get more irritated. That day, it reached a
point where I couldn't take it anymore and I had no more words left in
my mouth to fight with him and I didn't want to fight with him, so I
went out and started full on weeping. No one saw me, but my mike was
still on while I was crying, so Anurag could hear it. He immediately
came to me outside and I said, 'Ranbir can't do that.' Anurag said, 'You
want me to scream at him?' Now that day, nobody scolded Ranbir but he
has come to know that I was crying. When you will see that scene, you
will feel it is such a romantic scene, but no one knows what happened
before that. After the shoot got over, Ranbir came to me and said,
'Today I troubled you too much no? Ok sorry, I won't do it again.' Why do you think there was so much negativity around the film initially?
There is a lot that has been said about the film, but ultimately, you
can't keep combating these things by talking. We believed in the film
and now that I have seen the film, I loved it. I cannot sell a film to
anybody that you come and watch my film, but I am very proud of it. It's
like a gift to me that I could be in that environment and that
atmosphere that was created for us. This is the kind of film that people
have not seen before in India.
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