She is vivacious, she is spunky, and she is just Anushka Sharma. A firebrand of sorts, Anushka drove her way to unexpected glory with her superlative performance in her debut film, ‘Rab ne Bana di Jodi’. But with all the Band, baajas and baraat, Anushka has zoomed into the league of A-listed actresses sharing dais with the likes of Kajol and others. With a film so close to her heart, she delves into the nitty-gritties of working in a Yash Chopra film, sharing an exuberating friendship with Katrina Kaif and playing second lead to Shah Rukh Khan, yet another time post ‘RNBDJ’. Time for the bubbly girl from Bengaluru to spread happiness all over with her un-assumed effervescence!
On her recent trip to Kolkata to promote ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, we caught up with the lively diva at the press conference.
Getting to be a Yash Chopra heroine at such an early stage of your career, does that really make you feel proud?
Well, not proud and boastful but I am extremely happy that I got to do this role. Every girl wants to be ina Yash Chopra film and when I got the opportunity I just jumped into it. People have been asking why I opted for the film, even though it is of the second lead, but I just have one thing to say it is after all a Yash Chopra film. I can even be a showpiece in any of the frames and still be happy, leave aside an entire role!
Not just fun, shooting the film was quite a difficult task to. Your take on that.
Well, when you do a film with Yash Chopra, it is indeed a lot of fun. But yes, for ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ we had to shoot in some extremely challenging terrains like Kashmir and Ladakh where shooting conditions aren’t quite stable. Plus Ladakh is at such a high altitude that it becomes very uneasy and there is a shortness of breath. But yes. None of it could affect the legend Yash Chopra who walked around and cut jokes and encouraged us to face all obstacles and come out as winners, just the way he did.
Sharing screen space with Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan, how was the experience of working with the two super stars?
Well, Katrina is a really sweet, hard working friend of mine. Initially we never really met except at some social gatherings but it would have just been a ‘Hi or Hello’ but here we did an entire film together. People might feel that two actresses don’t get along well but we did hit it off really well from day one. I feel all that matters to get along with a person is the mentality. You might not get along with a person who has a different personality than yours. But with Katrina, that is not the case. She is extremely friendly and it was lovely working with her. With Shah Rukh, the thing was completely different. Initially when I was doing Rab Ne…, I never thought I would be doing another film with him. He is witty, selfless and special because he was my first co-actor. Shah Rukh takes real care of his co-actors and he is the only person I can talk to and share my problems, my happiness with. So ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ was all in all a wonderful experience!
What according to you is the main USP of ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’?
‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ is in itself a classic love story with a contemporary language. That in itself makes it unique and different from all other love triangles.
As we can see, Akira is spunky and vivacious with oodles of attitude. How much of Anushka have you fit into Akira?
Well, Akira is young, she is from Delhi and she is a documentary film maker with the Discovery Channel. She is very spunky, talkative, and restless and wants to achieve a lot in her life. Her ambitions are her passion. Well for me, I guess I am almost a lot like Akira and that is what helped me perceive the character really well. The only difference between me and Akira would be that she is a little too practical while I am not.
What is Anushka the actress expecting out of Jab Tak Hai Jaan?
Well, Jab Tak Hai Jaan is definitely the most special film that I have been a part of. It is a really soulful, lovely romantic film that is laced with some great performances and lovely music. All in all, it is Yashji’s last film and we all hope that people like us in the film and I am expecting firecrackers this Diwali!
