Kriti Sanon: Fans and their admiration is what we work for

The industry, of course, has sat up and taken note of Sanon despite the fact that a lion’s share of media’s attention was devoted towards her co-star Tiger Shroff, because of his Bollywood pedigree (he’s actor Jackie Shroff’s son). Producer Sajid Nadiadwala, for one, is confident that she is here to stay.
On her part she has fond memories of her co-star, a newbie himself. “Tiger is very well brought up. He is very disciplined and you can’t help but admire the way he lives his life. He is very focussed—to have that sort of will -power at this age is difficult. Sometimes, even if we had a shoot at seven in the morning, he would get up and go for a jog at four a.m.! For me, sleep was more important, so I would continue with my nap. I think both of us were learning and grew together. Doing a workshop before the film really helped. He is quite a shy person so it was only during our 45 -day stint in Patiala that he began to open up. After that he was very chilled out and helpful.”

However, in the near future, they are not teaming up for another film. “Sabir sir also wanted us to work together. But I think there should be a gap before you repeat the same pair which is the reason that we have not signed another film together.”

As for the projects she has signed opposite other co-stars, there’s Akshay Kumar’s home production Singh Is Bling and directors Raj Nidimoru and DK’s next venture titled Farzi opposite Shahid Kapoor. This, besides a few other projects she is reportedly in talks for, namely Housefull 3 and Raees, although she denies any such developments, while admitting that she would be thrilled if such a scenario worked out. “Shah Rukh Khan is someone you may get an opportunity to work with once in a lifetime, but nothing of the sort has come up,” she clarifies.

Sanon, a Delhi lass had not set her sights for a showbiz innings—she trained as a computer engineer—but her good looks led her to a modelling career, before she was spotted and selected for Heropanti. She did however, cut her teeth in acting by doing a few Telugu films before venturing into Hindi film industry. The actress recalls with amusement, her days of working in a language she could not even comprehend. “I don’t even understand Telugu. Earlier, when it came to saying my lines, they would tell me to just say 1,2,3,4 and get it dubbed later. But now with sync sound I am expected to learn my lines, so that the lip sync looks correct. The final dubbing is done by a person who knows the language fluently, otherwise the audience will immediately recognise the fact that I am not well versed with the language. Just like you know if a person is unfamiliar with Hindi tries to speak it. I try to understand the meaning of what is being said so that I can emote accordingly.”

For Hindi films,her preparations are in other departments— she is presently learning dance and prepping for some actions scenes with martial arts classes. “I play a dance teacher in Singh Is Bling which is why I need to learn professional dance. I had met Ashvini Yardi and Sajid sir (Nadiadwala for Heropanti) who needed someone who could dance as well as perform action scenes. For action, I guess, taller girls probably work better.”

Interestingly enough, Sanon has strong opinions and a good sense of scripts that might work well for her. “If the script is strong, the film can’t go wrong. When I hear the script, I react like the audience. If I like the story and want to watch it, I will probably go ahead and sign up especially if my part in it is good. If it feels different, I just go for it.”

The success or failure of the director’s earlier film does not necessarily affect her decisions and Sanon says she is excited about working in Raj and DK’s Farzi, despite the debacle of their romcom Happy Ending. “Farzi is a thriller and when I heard the script, I found it very interesting. When I saw the trailer of Happy Ending, I was very excited because it is after a long time that an urban romantic comedy was releasing. There are so many films made about small towns that it has all started looking very similar. And if one of my film doesn’t work then that doesn’t mean that I have no talent. That sort of an attitude is not right. Besides Raj and DK are great directors.”

While that may sound partial to urbane slickness in films, Sanon is hardly averse to mass entertainers. Heropanti was aimed at a single screen demographic quite the opposite of urbane multiplex moviegoers. “There are different kinds of films I want to watch. I enjoy both kinds of cinemas. There has to be a balance. There are times when I like to watch Rowdy Rathore and Heropanti which are more commercial—even Singh is Bling is a family entertainer, but Farzi is a thriller and is different. My debut film in Telugu was a psychological thriller too, very different from Telugu masala films, so I suppose one has to mix it up.”

It is hardly surprising then that the young actress is impressed with Kangana Ranaut’s journey. “Everyone is doing amazing work although my recent favourite would have to be Queen. Kangana performs exceedingly well in all her films whether it is Gangster or Tanu Weds Manu and now Queen.” However, Sanon shies away from following any role model and prefers being herself—the quintessential Dilli girl.

“People do want to see a pretty face but you also need to have a personality. If you are robotic and you can’t really perform, then you won’t last beyond two to three films, as times have changed now. Today girls have substantial roles and you can’t pull that off unless you can perform well of course. I still need to learn and prove myself. You need at least five films to prove that you are exceptionally talented,” opines the actress.

That she’s got a smart head on her shoulder; an invaluable asset in showbiz, is evident from an anecdote from her modelling days. During the shoot of a television commercial with superstar Aamir Khan, there was a scene that wasn’t coming to her easily. “I said that it seemed very fake. So Aamir said something which holds so true of acting— ‘It will look real only if you do it as though it is the most natural thing to do’. Whenever, I am unable to do a scene, I try to follow his advice!” says Sanon.

priyanka.sinha@expressindia.com