Amrita Rao stays grounded

Amrita Rao is playing the role of a contemporary Christian assistant director in her new film My Name is Anthony Gonsalves. The film is being directed by E. Niwas.

Speaking about the role, Amrita says that it was assistant director Jagrat on the sets of Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na, who really inspired her to perform well in the film. "I had gone to audition for Main Hoon Na when he came up to me and explained the scene to me. I was new and eager to learn. He explained the scene where I break down in the film. When Farah walked in, she asked me whether I was ready and I said I was. Jagrat played Shah Rukh Khan for me for the screen test. After the test, Farah said I was in the film. When I was doing this scene I realised how good an assistant director has to be," says Amrita.

About her rapport with her co-star Nikhil Dwivedi, Amrita says, "He is confident and a complete film buff. I shared a few personal things I learnt from Shah Rukh with him. When I was new to the industry, SRK told me to never lose focus in life as an actor. Nothing except the scene between the 'action' and the 'cut' should matter. As you progress and work becomes monotonous, you will notice that there are 1,400 people sitting around you, which you don't notice earlier. Focus is something you need to work on. I hope he (Nikhil) works on it."

About being linked with her co-stars, the actress says, "Rumours will come and go. I choose not to react to them. When I was linked to Shahid Kapur, I remained silent. Now I am linked to Nikhil and I still remain silent. He got anxious about it and that's when I told him, 'Welcome to the film industry'. These rumours are just a part of being a star."

The actress has been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy award for her performance in Vivah. "I consider myself extremely privileged to have been chosen. I thank Sooraj Barjatya for it. The film gave me mass popularity in the North as well as overseas," she exults.