“I Want To Make My Own Mistakes And Improve My Acting By Learning From My Mistakes” Sara Ali Khan

In this group print  interview, Sara Ali Khan who happens to be the daughter of my friends Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh looks unruffled in spite of the presence of a large contingent of media which had assembled at the Hotel J. W. Marriot and tells JYOTHI VENKATESH humbly that she considers herself a newcomer even today after having delivered two hits consecutively - Kedarnath and Simmba in a span of just two weeks

Your role in Simmba was smaller in comparison with your debut role in Kedarnath!

Yes. My role in Simmba was smaller but then I was calmer in the film than I am actually in real life. The film had an ensemble star cast and I played the role of a cop’s daughter in the film. Her life was totally different from that of mine. I had to make it a live character by mingling easily with the world of cops and run a catering service for the cops

What was tough about your role in Simmba?

Though behaviour wise, hers was a calmer character, she was very strong from within. She was a sweet girl who was capable of giving a tip or two on encounters and shoot outs to even the tough cops.

In what way was Simmba a different experience from that in Kedarnath?

I feel that every film that I one sets out to do as an actor is by itself an entirely different experience. You feel different while doing the promos and the actual shoot of a film on the sets. Even for a minute, I never felt that it was cake walk for me and instead on the contrary I felt that there was more pressure on me after Kedarnath in Simmba, though I had become an actor by then. I want to keep the love and affection that I got from the audiences after Kedarnath forever. I feel that though I have been given a degree after Kedarnath, the chapter one is not yet over even after Simmba.

How would you describe yourself as an actress?

I consider myself lucky. In did not expect a smooth sailing. I have seen many ups and downs during the shoot o Kedarnath. I remember I had been to Rohit Shetty’s office many times to seek work. He thought that I would visit him with my mother and manager but I surprised him totally by visiting him solo all alone with folded hands.

You mean to say that you did not get Simmba on a silver platter easily!

I am grateful to Gattu Sir because he had offered to cast me in Kedarnath but Id also be thankful and eternally grateful to Rohit Shetty Sir for having given me work even without having seen my performance in Kedarnath. I got my first offer very easily but there was definitely a lot of pressure in delivering the second time.

In what way are Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh different?

Rohit Shetty Sir and Ranveer Singh are undoubtedly the biggest stars  in our country today, especially after the phenomenal success of Simmba but I never thought of them as huge stars on the sets because both behaved with each and every one on the sets with a lot of genuine affection. Can you believe that Ranveer used to look at the monitor regularly but was never complacent? He used to serve ice-cream to the whole crew. I do not think anyone would give Rohit Sir or Ranveer bad-dhua.  When I shot for the song Aankh Maare O Ladka which was choreographed by Ganesh Acharya Master, I used to feel that I was going back home after a fun filled party every day after work.

Go on!

All of us used to work on double shifts on the sets of Simmba but not a single person used to say that he or she is tired at the end of the shift. I remember in Switzerland, it was biting cold and we were shivering while facing the camera on location. It was what I’d say phaadke tandi but Ranveer was shooting twice the time that I did but he never grumbled or said that he was tired. Ranveer does not waste his energy but conserves it. I did not need any other mentor on Rohit Sir’s sets, because I kept on learning from Ranveer just by looking at him working on the sets. The film belongs equally to the light boy and the spot boy as it belongs to Rohit Sir, Ranveer or me. Many centuries ago, my great grand fathers were maharajas in their kingdom but today I am of the opinion that Rohit Shetty Sir alone is a maharaja on his own right.

Is anyone in your family a hardcore critic for you?

Honestly no one in my family is critical towards me. I am glad no one has given me the pressure. They cannot view at my work unbiasedly as I am a part and parcel of the family

Is it true that you address you step mother Kareena Kapoor as Poo?

What rubbish! I am her ardent fan and can never bring myself to call her as Poo. I call her Kareena, and not Poo.

What is your approach towards your work on the sets?

I feel that i am very new even now though I am already two films old as I do not have much experience of work or for matter a method tom perform as I have not5 done different films with different directors. I just work on my conviction. If I am not convinced, I won’t be able to work in a film. And as I see all films, I also consider myself an ardent cine-goer. After working in not one but two films consecutively, I have now realised that different films offer the actors different kinds of challenges and it is not at all easy for one to give a full on performance in between Action and Cut.

Name the actors who have inspired you a lot?

I think frankly each and every actor has inspired me till date. I feel scared to say a particular name because I am inspired but just cannot become like therm. I have seen and been impressed by Sridevi as she has always done altogether different characters differently like in Sadma and Chaalbaaz. I am also a fan of Shabana Azmi and have seen her films like Arth, Sparsh and Masoom but at the same time I just cannot say that i have been inspired by jem because I cannitr reach up to their great heights as of now.

Your mother does not accompany you everywhere. What does your mom Amrita Singh say to you about you as a performer?

Every mother’s dream is to see how successful her son or for that matter daughter is in life. My mother helps me a lot. She guides me about the kind of lip sticks that i should see and whether the colour I choose is good or not but does not at all interfere in my work. As such she has struggled hard to bring me up in life, why should she accompany me wherever I go? If I were a doctor instead of an actor, do you think my mother would have accompanied me wherever I went?

There is a lot of comparison between you and other new comers like say Janhvi Kapoor. What do you have to say about this?

Beinbg a debutante, I understand the pre4ssure that is involved with a debutante actress. I have seen Dhadak and I should say that Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter were superb. Though the media likes to pit us against each other, the truth is that Jhanvi and I are very comfortable with each other and we understand b that people who compare us also are doing their own job at the end of the day. (Laughs)

What did you learn from Sushant Singh Rajput when you acted with him on the sets of Kedarnath?

It was a different experience while working with both Sushant Singh Rajput and Ranveer Singh. Sushant Singh Rajput played more of my mentor as Kedarnath was my very first film whereas while working in Simmba, Ranveer was very helpful by way of being my inspiration

I feel that the media has always behavd warmly with me and also written nice things about me. People used to feel that Im am very arrogant and do n ot at all give them time but that is because there is a lot of difference between being an actor and a joker.

You have already acted with actors like Sushant Singh Rajput and Ranveer Singh. Is there any other actor with whom you would love to work in films?

Frankly speaking, I want to work with every actor in the industry today, be it Salman Khan. Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan or Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor and Akshay Kumar. I have absolutely no ego at all and would not mind knocking at every one’s doors with folded hands. I feel that though Kedarnath was appreciated and Simmba is a huge hit, I am nobody and hence I know that when I seek work, it does not at all mean that I am begging

Can you elucidate?

Honestly, I feel that beyond a certain point, it does not matter when two of your films are released one after the other with just a two week gap. The point is that you have to work hard and nothing is there in your hands whether it is your hair, your dialogue or for that matter your film’s release date. To tell you the truth, if I am convinced about my character, I am game to play any kind of a role but I think still I am far too raw to know what my method is. Even if I make a mistake, I want it to be my own mistake because I want to learn from my own mistakes and go on improving my craft.

What is your advice to newcomers today?

Like I said, I consider myself a newcomer even today after having worked in two films but I’d day that English is limiting me now after I studied in USA. Sincxe I work in Hindi films, my attempt is to think in Hindi and nit English. You should work on your language before you go to the sets.

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