I begin by asking her how the experience was of sharing the frame once again with her Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (MKBKM) co-star Imran Khan. "It was very good. I think there is a great comfort level between Imran and me. We have a lot of common interests to talk about. So we don't indulge in talking too much about work, films and things like that. We speak about other things also. So I think somewhere, our bonding has been well established in this film. And I really like him as a person. He is warm. And he is your classic nice guy. You know, he is the kind of guy that gives you hope that there are nice guys out there in the world. So he stands for all things nice," she laughs.
So what does she think is Imran's best quality? "I think it's his honesty. He is an honest person. One thing I appreciate in any person is honesty. He is straightforward. And that's the way I am too. So that's something that I really appreciate in him," she smiles.
Her performance in the recently released MKBKM has been widely appreciated. While she is thrilled to receive such a warm response, Anushka, on her part, is all the more excited about the fact that she got an opportunity to work with one of her dream directors ' Vishal Bhardwaj. She reveals, "You know, after Band Baaja Baaraat, I have worked with four of the directors that I had always wanted to work with ' Yashji (Chopra), Vishal Bhardwaj, Raju (Rajkumar) Hirani and Anurag Kashyap. And I'm grateful for that. Of course, there are still many more on the wish list that I have to work with. More importantly, I want to do at least two more films with each one of them. And obviously, I also want to work with new directors who are doing some really good films."
After MKBKM, the lissome actress has two big films lined up ' Rajkumar Hirani's Peekay and Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet (BV). And Anushka can't believe that her dreams of working with these talented directors materialised so soon. "How I landed these two films ' Peekay and Bombay Velvet ' is really memorable for me. Raju Hirani called me after seeing Band Baaja Baaraat. When I saw his name flashing on the phone, I was so nervous. I remember I was at the shoot of a magazine when he called. I was in the middle of the shot and I literally ran out to answer his call. The photographer was like, where the hell did she go?" she laughs and goes on, "Raju Hirani is such a gentle person. He talks softly and nicely. He told me how he liked the film and my performance in it. I was naturally over the moon on hearing that. You know, the biggest achievement for me was that after Band Baaja', I was getting calls from some of the biggest directors and they were praising my performance. So he called me and praised my performance and that episode was done with. Then I had gone for a trial of Rockstar and the movie touched me so much that I was crying when I walked out of the theatre. And the first person I met was Raju Hirani. He was standing outside. He kept on talking but I was so overwhelmed by the film that I was in my own space. During that time, he told me, 'I have finished my next script and I am going to start casting for the film. So I'll call you soon.' He said it casually and it did not register in my mind. I was completely zoned out and that did not hit me."
Taking a pause, she continues narrating, "When I woke up the next morning, it hit me. So I called him up and I was like, 'Sir, you said something about your next film. I am sorry it did not register yesterday'. So he was like, 'Yeah, don't worry, I'll call you soon.' Then I went and met him. He told me how he is doing his next film. He also said that his wife always complains that his films don't have strong female characters. He was like, 'In this film, I'll show my wife how I can write strong female characters.' I remember when I walked out of his office I was as excited as I was when I had bagged my first film. Because I love his films. It's difficult to sell something to the audience without sounding preachy. His films are so entertaining but at the same time, they make you think and always have a social message. I don't think films always need to have social messages because films are about entertainment. But at the end of the day, if you can pass a social message while keeping it entertaining, that's fabulous. He has nailed that. You won't believe, when I walked out of his office after agreeing for Peekay, I went inside my car and gave my driver a high five. My driver naturally had no idea what happened. He must have thought, 'What's wrong with her? She has finally gone mad.'"
While she was on cloud nine to have bagged Peekay, she was just as excited when BV landed on her lap. "I met Anurag also soon after Band Baaja'. He just gave me the script and said, 'You read this. And I want to make this film only with you.' At that time, he had not even finalised the actor. Usually the norm is that the actor is chosen first and then they think about the actress. But that's what I like about Anurag. For him, the film is above everything else. And he chooses people who he thinks are right for the film. He came to me and gave me the script with complete conviction because he thought I was right for the film. And that's a huge thing for me," she narrates and adds, "When a director visualises you in his movie and wants you in his movie, like Anurag and Raju Hirani did, it just makes me want to work so much more. I won't complain. Even if I'm working for 20 hours a day, I just wouldn't complain because that's the kind of trust they have shown in me. So naturally, my commitment is going to be more than what is normally expected."
With films like Peekay and BV safely tucked under her belt, it is evident that Anushka is the girl to watch out for in 2013. The actress is also being touted as the one to have the most enviable line-up of movies in the current scenario. Tell this to her and she responds, "First of all, I hope it's not enviable. I hope everyone's happy for me. I am really happy right now. I have worked hard to get here."
Mulling over the thought, she reflects, "You know, I was launched in a big film. It was a huge, huge hit and I am really fortunate to be launched in such a big way. But I did not become a star overnight. I was not picking up all the debut awards. In fact, I did not win a single debut award that year. It wasn't like I was being featured on magazine covers and people were talking about me saying that 'Oh, she has arrived'. There were no phrases like 'Star In The Making' or 'The Next Big Thing' attached to my name. So for me, it was a bit of a struggle after becoming an actor. And that is always slightly harder. For six-seven months after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, I did not have a single movie. I knew that I would be doing two movies with Yash Raj but otherwise, I had nothing. The media would keep asking me if I was doing any new films, what were the other films in my kitty and things like that. So I was going through a bad time and had to struggle quite a bit. I used to think to myself, 'Am I going to make it here? Or have I taken the wrong decision?' I never wanted to be an actor. So I was like, 'I did not want to be an actor but became one and now what am I going to do?' After this initial mental chatter phase went away, I started thinking more deeply. And I am glad this happened because maybe this was necessary to get my bearings in place, to put my thoughts together. It helped me understand what is it that I wanted to do. Then I went and did a film like Band Baaja' where my character was completely the opposite of the one in Rab Ne... So my patience and the fact that I could cut out all the noise that I heard around me paid off."
Instead of being disappointed by the lull in the initial stages of her career, Anushka feels that it helped her in becoming a more sorted person and hence, a better actress. "It was sad that the year I made my debut, I was hardly spoken about. Like, I remember a magazine had an article with all the debutants of that year calling it 'The Class of Something Something' and my name was not even there. So I used to feel very left out. But I did not let that get in the way. For example, people like Ranbir (Kapoor) or Sonakshi (Sinha) who are star kids or people like Ranveer (Singh) and Deepika (Padukone) who are outsiders, they all became overnight stars. But that did not happen with me," she points out.
Taking a breather, she goes on, "That's why I was tremendously satisfied after Band Baaja... Because I did not get whisked by somebody's opinion and stuck to my beliefs ki no, I am not going to do too many films. Lots of people told me that you should grab as many films as you can or that out of sight is out of mind. But I knew that I wanted to do the right films and I wanted to give my best in every film that I did. So that was a better strategy in my head. Of course, it could have completely backfired or blown in my face. But by God's grace, it all worked out and today I am really happy. Now when I look back, I feel proud of that quiet confidence which was present inside me at all times. It was a small voice but it was there ' telling me, 'No, it's okay. Things will work out.' I am proud that I was able to cut out the negativity that was around me."
Having become a part of the top league of actresses, Anushka knows that there is stiff competition amongst the lot. But she is unfazed. "The thing is that we have this habit of comparing our success or failure on the basis of someone else's success and failure. That is not the way I look at it. I don't compare myself to my peers. I admire their work. I agree that there is competition. I am not saying I'm my only competition. That's complete bollocks. You can't say you are your own competition because there is competition. But the only thing that's in my hands is to do good work in whatever I do. What's in my hands is to let my work speak for itself and to be able to give better performances so that I can take on more challenging roles. I want to be in a position where people come and watch a film not just because of the lead actor but because of me. It's great if you, as an actress, can get people to come to theatres. That is something right now only Katrina (Kaif) can boast of. That is the case with her films. I think that's a good position to be in and I'd love to be in that position."
Even though the actress agrees that there is intense competition between actresses, she thinks that the media often aggravates the rivalry between two actors. "The media sometimes creates an agenda between two people unnecessarily. Even if I want to be friends with everyone in the industry, there will be an agenda that will be created and I will have to deal with it. Truth is I don't have issues with anyone. I genuinely don't have issues with any actress. See, my father was in the army so I come from a background where we are taught to respect everyone. We are taught to be united. That's my upbringing."
But then, one can't blame the media for all the catfights that happen in the industry. Only recently, Deepika Padukone supposedly took pot-shots at Anushka and her wish list of directors. Ask Anushka what she has to say about that and she maintains a cool stance, "I don't know if it's a dig. I decide to work on a list of directors. On the other hand, she decides that she wants to work on her list in another manner. That's her decision. I don't think it's a dig."
The actress further justifies that she stays away from taking digs at people, irrespective of whether her competitors stoop to that level or not. "I don't take digs at anyone. Even the interview I had done sometime with a leading daily that caught everyone's attention, it was just that I was responding to the allegations that were put on me. But I was made to sound like this competitive, vicious, calculative woman which I'm not. I was just reacting to the allegations but people said, 'Oh, she is taking digs at someone'. Listen, I was not taking a dig at anyone. I'm not the kind of person to take digs at anyone. You can pull up any article of mine except that one. I've never spoken about anyone in my interviews, I never take names, I never compare. If someone comes and tells me that this person took a dig at you and what do you have to say about that, I don't try to give a chunt reply to make myself seem better. I don't need to do that."
As an afterthought, she adds, "As a person, I can't stay in a negative environment. I start getting anxiety attacks. I'm the kind of person who can't go to sleep without clearing the problem I've had with my family or my friends. So for me, I'll never ever take a dig because I don't want to get into that kind of mess. I'll be happy if everyone leaves me alone. And I'll leave them alone."
Recently, there were even reports of the actress having undergone a lip job. As soon as I broach the subject, Anushka vehemently cuts in, "Can you see any difference in my lips? No, right? So can you please write about it? You know, I was extremely upset with the story. Because I don't believe in these cosmetic things. I've been a girl who was cast in her first film and was told by Adi (Aditya Chopra) 'You are not the most beautiful girl. That's not why I am casting you. I'm taking you because I found you talented.' So do you really think I'm going to succumb to such things? My make-up artist was laughing when the story came out. She was like, what is wrong with these people. You know, when that picture was taken, I was wearing a dark lip colour. It was a red mouth. And whenever you wear a deep colour, your lips look fuller. So this thing was unnecessarily blown out of proportion."
She continues in the same breath, "But it's fine. The fact is that you are sitting in front of me and you don't find any difference. None of my heroes have turned around and told me, 'Have you done something weird to your lips?' No DOP has come and told me, 'Listen, something is up with your lip.' No other news people have been talking about it. So no one saw any change in my lips. But I want to know who this one person is who saw so much change and figured out that I had undergone a so-called 'lip job'. It's ridiculous."
While her professional life or her supposed lip job is of extreme interest to the public, even her personal life has always been under the scanner. Latest buzz is that the Bangalore-bred girl is supposedly dating Arjun Kapoor. But she brushes these rumours away. "Look, I have grown up as a carefree child. I remember, during my growing up days, I was friends with the boys, girls, everyone. We were a huge group. So I have grown up being comfortable with guys, hanging out with them and being friends with them. I don't look at boys as 'Oh my God, he is a boy'. And I have gone to a co-ed school. So I have never seen boys as desirable objects only. They can be your friends. Arjun is a friend of mine, I'm not denying that. I like that guy. He is intelligent and affectionate. The way he is with his friends, the way he is with me or with his sister ' he is just an affectionate person. Even Ranbir is my friend. RK is intelligent, he is funny and he is someone I can genuinely have a good conversation with. I find Imran hilarious. Imran and I always have a great time together."
She elaborates some more, "If I really had something going on with another actor, it would happen behind closed doors. Any time you have seen me, you have seen me in the public eye. I'm not hiding anything because I've got nothing to hide. They are my guy friends. I was brought up in an environment where my parents never told me that a guy and girl were any different. That's a progressive way of thinking. The fact that we can see a guy and a girl in only that kind of a relationship is actually sad. These are not guys I'm romantically inclined towards. And I don't want to be romantically involved with any of these guys."
And where does that leave Ranveer Singh? After all, the two were known to be rather fond of each other, leading to stories of them being together. But latest reports suggested that the two had parted ways. Question Anushka on this, and she states, "See, Ranveer and I did two films back-to-back with each other. At that time, I didn't know many people in the industry. And we were spending so much time with each other because we really had to promote both the movies together. It's just that people saw us a lot together. Even when we would go to award functions and our film won awards, truth is we were all together. Even my director would be there, the writer was there, the cinematographer was there. We would all be sitting together at award functions but they could only see me and Ranveer. So I think it's just that. There is nothing more to it. Really nothing more."
Anushka admits to being single at this point in time. But she is open to the idea of love and has a fair idea of what her Mr Right should be like. "I would love to be in a relationship. It's always nice to be in a relationship. But in the last one-and-a-half years, I have had a lot of experiences that have given me a lot of clarity and maturity in life. I think I have grown up. That's why I am sure about the kind of guy I want to be with. I want to be with a guy who respects me, understands me and who doesn't use some of my negative points against me. Because everyone has their negative points. If I'm with a guy, I'll embrace his negatives along with the fact that he is such a great guy and that's why I want to be with him. I want to be with a nice guy whom I can respect, who supports me and who's not a pushover," she says.
"Right now, I don't think I'm in the space where I can go looking out for a guy like this. It's a little difficult to find this kind of a guy. So I'm just going to wait and see. There is no hurry. I think I work better when I'm not with someone. And more importantly, I look better when I'm not with someone," she ends with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
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