Jawan actress Lehar Khan feels happy when directors ‘take a leap of faith’ on her as she’s an ‘untrained actor with no theatre background’. Born and brought up in Delhi, Lehar, who’s been acting since the age of 11, belongs to a family of doctors and accountants. Having worked in Jalpari, Parched, Brahmastra and Dahan, the 24-year-old actress spoke to us about her big film Jawan, ‘Chief’ Shah Rukh Khan’s energy on the sets and her learnings.
Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan is a massive film. Tell us about the moment when you were confirmed for the film.
Lehar Khan: I had a brief meeting with Atlee sir at the Red Chillies Entertainment office. It was a big deal. At that time, I wasn’t told about the project. Nothing was revealed. After four days, I was called for an audition. I remember it clearly because I auditioned a day after my birthday (July 4). I was stunned when I got the call just a day later. I thought it was a prank. They told me the audition was good.
After I got off the call, I jumped and told my mom that I am doing a film starring Shah Rukh Khan! I had expected to meet him while shooting Brahmastra as I knew he was there in the film but later, I realised I won’t be having any scenes or interaction with him. It was a heartbreaking moment as my mother and I are huge fans, and my mother’s a bigger one. Since childhood, I have watched Shah Rukh Khan on TV and have been following him. I may have manifested it to happen! With a Red Chillies Entertainment project, I knew I would get to meet him. I won’t be able to explain what I felt when I was finally told. (Smiles)
With Shah Rukh Khan on the sets, the energy remains high…
Lehar Khan: Definitely, he is THE energy on the sets. He has infectious energy and there’s so much love for what he does. After spending 30 years, he still has got the passion to do it, which is amazing. The energy is visible in the Zinda Banda song.
Tell us about your first interaction with Shah Rukh.
Lehar Khan: In one of the shots, my collar was uneven. While someone from the costume team was on their way to fix it, he stopped the person and evened it himself and even held my prop. I was like OMG! He suddenly made me comfortable. He didn’t need to do it. I thanked him so many times. In reply, he asked me to do my shot nicely. (Smiles)
As you watched Shah Rukh Khan closely, what were your learnings?
Lehar Khan: He loves to rehearse, and I loved to watch it. He rehearses till he perfects the shot, and then in one shot, he does it. His warm hugs are so nice. With such a hug, he makes one feel welcome. And he always smells the best. We used to wonder how it is possible to smell good all the time!
It’s also a life lesson to smell good all the time.
Atlee is known for his flamboyant style of direction. How was your experience?
Lehar Khan: Atlee sir is a stylish director. It’s very different from the films I did before. He is very confident in what he does. His shots come out very well after the edit. After the edit, we used to be surprised, seeing the scenes that we had shot for. We used to be like, ‘Wow, is this what we had been shooting?’ He is very sweet, gentle and shows gratitude for good work. Whenever he sees someone in distress, he goes to the person to talk. He has a good heart.
Coincidentally, almost all the members of the Jawan girl gang are creatively inclined. How did you bond?
Lehar Khan: Yes, absolutely. I was into dance and later I got into acting. I have other hobbies too such as painting and making animated motion videos. We all have some talent and other hobbies. The bonding was amazing because we have been together for a long time, and we are friends for life. We have had painting, dancing and jamming sessions together. Dancing is something that we all enjoyed the most.
At the moment, how important is Jawan for your career?
Lehar Khan: Jawan is very important. Deep in my heart, if I have done justice to the role and if the audience appreciates it, it will be a crucial part of my career. It will provide exposure. When I started out and did Jalpari as a child actor, I was nominated for a lot of awards. It’s when I did Parched that I decided to be an actor. So, all these films added something. For instance, Brahmastra introduced me to a bigger production house, a bigger schedule, and big stars such as Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. So, Jawan will change things externally from the audience’s point of view.
Are you there in the Brahmastra sequel?
Lehar Khan: I don’t know yet because when we had started, there were no plans for a second or a third part. So let’s see. So far, there’s been no conversation on it.
There’s a lot of competition among young talented actors. How do you keep yourself driven?
Lehar Khan: In college, I did my bachelor’s in filmmaking. I didn’t have a backup. I don’t want to keep any options open. Not sounding arrogant, I know I will make it happen somehow. Rejection is part of it. Everybody has some privileges and many people in my competition don’t have the support of parents. It makes me calm about what I am doing, with my parents’ support. Just after Parched, when I told my parents that I wanted to pursue acting, they decided to shift base to Mumbai. I myself was taken aback by their decision.