This has been a great year for you with four pitches. How do you feel?
I feel a number of things at this stage. Happy, one. A little excited too. But sometimes gets lost, so many things happening at once. Living out of suitcases, ranging from the promotion of the film of the games. But that's something I wanted to do, and I dreamed of this happening. And now it's taking shape. And yes, this has been a busy year. Fourth version. One more to go after this. Exciting times ahead!
But his films Gangs of Wasseypur and Ek Thi Daayan were not commercial successes.
It is unfair to compare films together. Several films are made in different budgets for different markets. You can not compare my mother's rajma chawal chicken from his mother! It is very unfair to compare. I think all the movies I've been part of have been very interesting with a cast interesting. They were the films that I'm very proud. As far as commercial success goes, may not have been at the club for R 100 crore, but they have not lost money either. And a lot of movies, such as Ek Thi Daayan, it was a complete experiment. Therefore, some experiments very well and others are doing different.
D-Day is an action thriller. How much of a challenge was to interpret the action sequences?
After D-Day, I have decided that unless a very good movie or a good part as Zoya comes my way, I'd think hard about doing the action again, as it is very difficult. Due to the physical difficulty in doing a role like this and shoot in the heat and trying to look at everything as agent, keeping the character in mind and not forget the lines - there is a lot of synchronization that occurs when you're making an action movie, and you do not want to be the one ruining! There are cars blasting, firearms, explosions going on and do not want to spoil anything, because then all shot wasted. So that is a very scary possibility ... in each action sequence my heart was beating, "Please God, let me not mistake what I have to do! '
You have worked with two brilliant actors - Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan. How was it?
Well, Rishi Kapoor is my favorite co-star in the film. He is very funny. He has great anecdotes and stories. It is very inspiring too. Even today, when he calls, so much passion and dedication with which it does. At this stage of his career, is still as excited and childish. And he does not have to. He has been a superstar since his first movie! With Irrfan, everyone is a fan of him. Only the name of their performances, and all have been fine. As co-star, which is very difficult to measure because it is full of surprises. You never know how you will respond to what you are saying or doing. And sometimes it happens some real magic. Not a single shot, Irrfan and I, and did not speak before. It was a small scene in which we find ourselves in a rickshaw and we are traveling from point A to point B and there's something wrong. I can not say why, but had not decided what we would do. And at some point in the rickshaw ride I began to mourn and Irrfan reassured me, and a very intense moment happened that none of us had planned! So with an actor like Irrfan, with everything he does, he manages to add a layer to it. Arjun (Rampal) is also very fun to work with - one of the best looking men, National Award winner, and the strongest actor of our time. In fact, he celebrated his 40th birthday on the sets and really enjoyed ourselves. I put his picture on my BlackBerry Messenger and all my friends told me that it can not be 40! And I was like, if I can look that cool at 40, I'll be very happy.
His brother Saqib Saleem is doing quite well for itself too, with a number of interesting features to his credit. Follow the two films speak?
Our house is a very interesting mix. I have people telling me that you are the actor out of the ordinary and his brother Yash Raj is very ordinary child, so is Indian cinema under one roof, right there, right now! But yes, the two discuss many movies. We like movies. We grew up watching movies, so our sensitivity and our choices are the same. In fact every time you stuck somewhere you come to me, and when I am, I go to him. The two are very strong people with strong opinions, and to make our own decisions, but it's always good to have a rebound board, someone you can trust. Also because it is the family, understand that we come from, and if there are plenty of other forms of pressure on me, it is good to have along.
Do you feel your struggle in Bollywood period is over?
There are two ways to answer this question. First would be, I never had problems. And the second is that the struggle is forever! Whether you think that everything you do is a struggle, so the fight will go on. Even today I have to fight and get to the next level. Keep improving myself. Maybe make a movie bigger or something interesting and push the envelope. Yet another way to see is that this is not a struggle, it is a learning period. And the next level will also be a learning period. So I'm taking each day as it comes. Each film in question. So there is no grand scheme. I had no intention of doing the day D when I Wasseypur. Nikhil also intended to make the day D below. These are things that you can not decide. In fact, when I met Nikhil first narrated another script for me. Then the second time I met him and narrated D-Day asked me which character I wanted to choose. Obviously I chose Zoya Rehman 'coz I might kill some bad guys while I was acting. (Smiles)
In most of its functions, have shown a fascination with gray characters?
Ek Thi Daayan Except none of my characters have been negative. In fact, Zoya even on D-Day is not negative. She is a patriot, in fact. She is a person who loves his country and is willing to make a lot of sacrifices in your personal life for a greater cause. She is part of a team guy she's the only girl. And it does go through a very hostile territory to return the most wanted man in India. But I do not think it's negative. Yes, there is a part where violence is questioned around and all the sacrifices he has made for the common good and if it's worth it or not. But that is a question that we all face in life, right?
Since you are in this stage where his career has taken off, have you ever thought of the success goes to the head?
No. I think I would not lose my sense of humor. A certain naivete that I have that my brother tells me about I take people at face value, I will not stop doing that, no matter how successful or I become worldly wise. Because if you are too ordered on the head, you lose the magic of life. If you just know all the answers, is not willing to explore. So I hope I never lose that. But sometimes one has to be practical. Because people think that just because you're an actor, it's okay to ask all kinds of questions and no privacy, no life. You do not feel hurt and that you're just a thing without feelings and emotions. It is not fair. Sometimes people send me random messages. Yesterday someone sent me a message saying that you knew about three years ago in Delhi and I can get me a role in his film? Randomly! Not even know who he was. At some point it violates their privacy. And if you tell people to back they think has gone to his head. Like, when I did Wasseypur, had nothing else to do in life. I was working on the film. Nobody knew me then. I did not give any interviews. I had an event to go or ribbon cutting. But now I do, and people do not realize that all that time I gave my film and my work has been worn by a lot of other things. So I have to protect that.
Gangs Of Wasseypur did garner a lot of critical acclaim. Do you feel the benchmark has been set too high?
That I knew when we were discussing the movie. Is a film once in a lifetime. It will always be very special. I will always be the girl Wasseypur. Even now, when I visit schools and all, I always want to see me wear aviators. They always want to do that scene permission. I'm like, is a six-hour movie and I was there for only 20 minutes, so good I work!
You have a pretty face, but a fuller figure unconventional. Are you afraid of type 'heroin' typical glamorous roles did not get in the way?
Is that the only way you can become a hero? I do not understand. In GOW, in that small town, I was the prettiest girl. I was the most glamorous of there. Ek Thi Daayan In all the other women in the film, it was heroin. Therefore, I was the pretty girl. Yes, we may have certain ideas or notions about size zero and all. But today there are many actresses who are more curves and all are doing very well for themselves. And I think it's time we started to look at the beautiful people individual rather than fit into the same box. Not everyone can have the same look. And you should not have the same look. If I look like any other actress, then you can go ahead and launch any other actress. Why did you miss me? The idea is that if you're throwing so I can do something nobody else can do. There is some uniqueness to me. So either you can think of it as a problem or as an added bonus. And I do not want to take names but today there are many actresses who are not size zero but are very fine actresses have huge followings. They have a personality. So I prefer to be an actress with a personality that a size zero hollow. I do not want to be a clothes hanger. I am an actress.