In a sleek black dress and with her hair gelled back, Anushka Sharma looked picture perfect when t2 met her at the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa in Goa recently. For the next 30 minutes, the 27-year-old stunner spoke about Bombay Velvet — currently playing in theatres — and beyond.

What was your first impression of Rosie when you were told about her five years ago?

I was very surprised that Anurag (Kashyap) was offering it to me because I am not the Rosie kind of person at all and he had no idea who I was as a person. He had only seen my work until Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and Rosie isn’t anything like any of the characters I had played till then. So I was like, ‘How is he offering me this?’ He said, ‘I have seen something in you in Band Baaja Baaraat and I am convinced you will be able to play this’. I still keep asking him why, but he tells me something so confusing that I can’t understand what he really means! (Laughs) 
Basically, Bombay Velvet gave me the chance to do something new and out of my zone. I was just so excited by the film and its world and the love story that he was offering to me because it’s something that I haven’t seen on our screens before. I had to do it. And for a director to have that kind of faith in you, is very unusual. Our directors normally typecast actresses, so to have someone offer you something like this was phenomenal.

Anurag takes a long time to cast... he thinks and he ponders and he casts. That I was the first person to be cast in this film… even before Ranbir (Kapoor) and Karan (Johar)… says a lot about the kind of faith in me. I respect people who cast someone because he or she is good at their job and not just because they are stars. At that time, I wasn’t the known face I am today. He cast me just on the basis of my work. 

In Bollywood, normally the leading man is cast first and then directors go looking for the heroine. Did it give you a kick that you were cast before the rest?

It didn’t give me a kick, but it was humbling and reassuring to know that we have directors like this also in the industry. You are right when you say that 99 per cent of the time it’s the casting of the hero that’s given all the importance and when that’s done, then they go around looking for the girls. But I also understand that because most of our films get funded on the basis of who the leading man is… they don’t care much about us (smiles). I hope it changes soon, given the kind of work the women in the industry are doing.
But with me, touchwood, it’s generally been like this, by and large. Like Karan had cast me for his film (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) within a week of writing it and told me that he couldn’t think of anyone else in that part. So, there are directors who do that, but it’s different for Karan because he’s a friend and he knows. But Anurag didn’t, when he cast me.

Karan had told t2 that once he got to know Anurag, they hit many middle grounds. Did that happen with you and Anurag, considering he comes from a completely different world of cinema?

I am a fan of Anurag’s work because he looks at something in a very unique way. I am like that too… I never see anything in the obvious sense. For me, something hatke is always exciting. Like in Dev.D, Devdas doesn’t die or go mental… he goes off with Chandramukhi. It’s a different take. And that’s what he’s done with Bombay Velvet… it’s such a refreshing take on Bollywood cinema. 

Did having Karan as a co-star help your performance as well?

Karan and I don’t have too many scenes together, unfortunately, but what Karan brings to the role no one else can. Naseeruddin Shah was, I think, first approached for the role, but with all due respect to him, now I can’t think of anyone but Karan in this role. The kind of uniqueness he brought to (Kaizad) Khambatta no one can and he took advantage of the fact that he isn’t the obvious choice for the role. His performance is the highlight of the film. 

You have been wanting to do a film with Ranbir Kapoor for a long time. Was Bombay Velvet the ideal film to collaborate on?

Ranbir and me, this may be our first film, but we’ve known each other for many years. We are very good friends and have a buddy vibe which I don’t have with anyone else in the industry. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and I don’t take myself too seriously either. Both of us don’t have that attitude: ‘We are actors, we are stars’. On set, who cares how big a star you are? We both want to do good work and Bombay Velvet gives us that.

When I read about the kissing scenes in the script, they were so passionate that I got a little thrown off. I was like, ‘I hope whoever is cast opposite me I am comfortable with, otherwise we will never be able to make it believable’. Thank god, Anurag chose Ranbir! (Laughs) 

In fact, we were like siblings on set. Anurag was like, ‘I could shoot an entire film on the two of you just as brother and sister!’ I think what helped our off-screen chemistry — which added to our on-screen equation — is that I am just one of the boys… I am not a girly-girl when I am with guys, until and unless it’s someone I am involved with (smiles). 

Moving away from Bombay Velvet, did the success of NH10 take you by surprise?

It did, most certainly. As a producer, more than confidence, the success gives me reassurance and strength to know that a film like NH10, which on no count was your average go-to kind of film and which we made and released against all odds, has an audience that is growing with every good film that we make. I am so happy that not only was the film appreciated, it also made profits. That enables us to think of making more and more films that my brother (Karnesh, who co-produced NH10) and I are excited to make. As an actor, though, a film like this never makes you confident. It’s a very, very vulnerable position to be in… to bare yourself so much on screen. I felt naked while shooting that film because I bared my emotions much more in NH10 than I have in any other film. 

You have always held your own even in films with towering male co-stars... what’s the formula?

Honestly, there’s no formula as such… there can never be (smiles). I am just lucky that I debuted with a film (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) in which the girl had as much to do as the man… all the drama was centred around her. But I feel that there are so many of my peers also who are making an impact because a small step has been taken to make films with women, if not at the forefront, at least in terms of giving them equal footing.

Kangana (Ranaut) and Vidya (Balan) did great service to us by doing films like Queen and The Dirty Picture and that gave me the fillip to attempt an NH10. The top actresses of our country are doing strong and powerful roles and that’s because filmmakers have at last realised that they need to tell different stories to engage the audience. It’s just not the dhoom dhadam kind of films with the macho kind of flavour anymore. Even as I say so myself, I think NH10 has given a very strong push to women-centric films because unlike Queen, it isn’t a feel-good, happy kind of film and yet people went with their families to watch it. 

Okay, you asked about formula… let me tell you that I can’t sign these so-called ‘projects’. I have said ‘no’ to a lot of projects because I just didn’t see myself in them. I have had people telling me, ‘What a stupid thing to do to refuse a film with so-and-so star. Your film would have made 150 crore…’ but no, I didn’t want to do them because I had nothing to do in those films apart from two songs and three scenes. I want to be relevant to the work I do. It’s a very personal thing… it could work for somebody else and honestly, I have no judgement over it, but what makes me happy is doing work where someone comes out of the theatre and says, ‘Anushka was there in every frame… she made such an impact’. 

Is that a realistic stand to take in Bollywood?

It is, definitely. At the end of the day, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and hiding behind the hero or making an appearance only in an item song, your career will be short-lived. For me, I need to build my equity through doing films that I will be remembered by and that will prolong my career. Otherwise, I am here today, gone tomorrow. 

Look at Rani Mukerji… she’s still doing films. She managed to make Mardaani a huge success because she’s an actress, not just a star. She can hold your attention on screen for a long time and that’s what I want to do with my films. The sad thing in our country is that if you are not young, you are not saleable anymore. It’s a society thing… but now our filmmakers are becoming progressive and making films with kids as protagonists or with 50-year-old actresses at the forefront like in English Vinglish (Sridevi).

People told me, ‘Don’t make NH10, women won’t watch it’. But it is the women who watched it the most. So maybe I understood my audience a little bit better than the so-called movie gurus (smiles). I am just following my conviction… I may act till I am 50 or I may leave it all at 35 and spend the rest of my life living happily in my farm (smiles). I want to have a good career and when I want to pull the plug... it is entirely my decision. 

Finally, do you regret openly talking about your relationship with Virat Kohli given the backlash when India lost in the World Cup semis?

(Thinks awhile) I’ve just decided not to talk about all this, ya. But yes, it did take me by surprise because I was there just like any other Indian fan cheering on my team. The only difference between me and the average fan in the stands was that I am in a relationship with one of the team members. Initially, it did affect me, but then we both realised that such things will keep happening and we have to take things chin up (smiles). That’s all I can say. 

Priyanka Roy
Is Anushka Sharma Bolly’s most versatile actress? Tell t2@abp.in