Hits and misses are part of one’s life- Shraddha Kapoor

Jyothi Venkatesh

How do you feel now that you have made it into the 100 cr league at the box office with your latest film Stree?

The feeling is yet to set in but it feels very nice. The success really means the world to me. My dad is the happiest. Which parents would not like their kids to embrace success?  I have now decided that I’d work even harder now that Stree is a big hit. The way my journey as an actress started with Teen Patti back in 2010, I realized very early in my career that hits and misses are essential part of your journey.

What is the film Batti Gul Meter Chalu all about?

The film sets out to highlight the issue of incorrect electricity bills in an entertaining way. People don’t like to be preached. We are highlighting a relevant issue that people in our country face and I am very proud to be part of such films.

What is your role in Batti Guul Meter Chalu?

The film is a social drama that talks about the issue of electricity overbilling and corrupt power corporations. It is my first ever film which deals with a socially relevant issue and deals with the pressures that people in small towns have to put up with when all of a sudden electricity goes off and they also end up paying highly inflated bills, which they cannot afford to.

How did you prepare for your part?

I play the role of Lalita Nautiyal, who is way different from what I am in real life. My role in Batti Gul is very different from my roles in Saina or Stree. Lolita has a very shy strong conscience and is a very quirky person. She speaks with a high pitch and has the temerity to tell on his face to Shahid Kapoor that what he does is not at all right.

Like Lalita, are you obsessed with fashion in real life?

She is fully obsessed with fashion whereas I am not. She is very throaty and noisy that you will automatically want to close your ears when she starts talking. What is interesting about her is that she thinks that she is the best fashion designer in the world who can give a takkar to Rohit Bal and Manish Malhotra though she is bad.

How was Shree Narayan Singh as a director?

I loved the way he had directed Toilet Ek Prem Katha.  Shree Sir was sure of what kind of a film he wanted to make when he launched Batti Gul Meter Chalu. When I heard the narration, I found myself laughing a lot uncontrollably. I was glad when I heard that even the audience laughed a lot when they were watching the film even though it is a horror film. I am glad that I got the opportunity to work with brilliant actors in Stree like say Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathy.

 What made you agree to do a horror film like Stree?

Stree was so unique because it had scares and at the same time it had comedy. I was really glad that somebody offered me a film like Stree because I did not want people to think that I did only romantic films.

Has you approach towards acting changed from the time you made your debut with Teen Patti?

With the success of Stree, I think everything has fallen in place as far as I am concerned, though it is a fact that I give my 110 % best to every film that I sign and I have zero idea when I started working in a film, whether it would do well or tank at the box office. I only try to give my best to the film. I think that if a film is good, it will definitely work at the box office. I would say that irrespective of whether my films do well or not at the box office, I want to put in 100% in the work that I am called upon to do in films and keep discovering myself and doing good work.

Isn’t Stree your first film to touch the 100 cr league?

Stree is my first film this year which has crossed the 100 cr league at the box office. Earlier,my films like ABCD, Ek Villain etc too had crossed the mark, though I am not too sure whether Aashiqui 2 also had touched the 100 cr bracket at the box office. I want to be part of good films and content. I am very fortunate to be offered the films that I am offered. I don’t let success or failure affect me that much. I just want to work hard. That is my focus.

How was your experience of shooting in Uttarakhand for the film with Rajkummar Rao?

Stree was my first film with Rajkummar Rao, who I feel is irreplaceable as an actor. He is one of my favorite co-actors. He is such a nice person. I feel that only he could have played a role like he did in Stree with aplomb. I instantly fell in love with Uttarakhand and its people. I loved the food there too and loved the place to such an extent that I did not want to come back to Mumbai at all after the pack up of the film was announced.

What has the phenomenal success of Stree proved to the world at large?

It has been vindicated that a film with me can turn out to be a big hit even though I do not at all get wet in it like it happened in Baaghi or die in it in the end, like it happened in Aashiqui 2. (Laughs)

Aditya Chopra and you had fallen out after you chose to not be part of the YRF contract after acting in just one film?

All speculations that Adi is very peeved with me are wrong. How can I forget the fact that after Teen Patti, when no one had any confidence in me and my talent, it was Adi who had belief in me? Adi is one of the most important persons in my life. Mohit Suri is another who had signed me for Aashiqui 2. After Teen Patti bombed, I had given several auditions for new films but no one wanted to cast me in his or her film. In fact some of them even replaced me after the mahurat was held and the cake was cut. It was a very harrowing phase of my life. Adi has always been lavish with his compliments after every film of mine has been released. I have done only one film with him for YRF. I hope he signs me for another film produced by YRF.

What next, after Batti Gul Meter Chalu?

After Batti Gul Meter Chalu, I will plunge headlong into my film Saina Nehwal on former No 1 world badminton singles player, directed by Amol Gupte. My trilingual film with the Baahubali actor Prabhas is being readied for an early release. It will be my first foray in Telugu.

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