"As a kid I used to dance on SRK's song from Baazigar" - Anushka Sharma
By Subhash K. Jha, January 2, 2009 - 10:36 IST
The best compliment Anushka Sharma received for her performance in Rab Ne Bana De Jodi came from Yash Chopra. "He came up to me and said mine was one of the best performances he had seen by a debutant. He placed his hand on my head while saying this. So he was blessing me."
She was also not presented with the poise finesse and sophistication associated with the typical Yash Raj heroine. Anushka defends the banner stoutly. "You're right. Even when girls are presented as seedhi-saadhi in a Yash Raj film she's glamorous. And coming from a glam background I wouldn't have minded being glossy in my first film. But you know what? This was such a huge opportunity. I couldn't have asked for more. I fell in love with my character and the film. It's a dream role for any debutante. I can always get into chiffon saris in the next Yash Raj film. Or the one after that..."
It's interesting how Anushka got Rab Ne Bana De Jodi. "I was auditioned and short-listed. Then Adi auditioned me personally and I was on."
Ask her how she managed to be so natural in her first film and Anushka laughs, "All the while I was modeling in Bangalore. Maybe there was an actor lurking within me. I'm crazy about my modeling work. I love the ramp and the backstage banter. I moved to Mumbai a year ago. Movies were not a priority. I don't come from a film background, don't know how the industry works. I didn't know anyone here."
But Anushka was always a huge Shah Rukh fan. "My dad is in the army and when they would've these functions in the mess, I'd dance to Shah Rukh's 'Kitabe Bahut Si Padhi Hogi' from Baazigar. I must've been 3 at that time. I wasn't just Shah Rukh's fan. I'm his trueblue admirer. I always loved the way he conducted himself. Now after having worked with him I love him even more. Rab Ne...was like my school where Shah Rukh and Adi were my teachers."
However Anushka wasn't over-instructed. "Adi never told me what to do beyond a point. In fact he gave me the liberty to interpret my character how I wanted after making me read the lines. Imagine a newcomer getting so much freedom in her first film! I must have given my DOP Mr Ravi Chandran so much grief. I knew nothing about camera angles. I didn't even understand focus marks. Shah Rukh was doing that for me. Adi and Shah Rukh made things so comfortable for me. These things matter a lot when you're starting out."
Anushka didn't have to make a strenuous effort to act. "Even modeling is a kind of performance. On the ramp you are representing a concept. In a film you're projecting an individual. But the transition wasn't hard for me. Because in real life I'm as simple as the girl I play in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Yes, I do like to dress up and walk the ramp. But that isn't the real me."
Anushka was lucky to be brought up in Bangalore. "Otherwise army officers who give their lives for the country (and I'm proud to be born to a soldier's daughter) could be posted anywhere in the back of the beyond. That gets really tough on their kids. Me and My brother (who used to be a state-level cricketer) got the best of education in Bangalore."
Mumbai is now Anushka's home. "I kept coming to Mumbai for modeling assignments. I decided to move into Mumbai a year ago with my mom, since my dad is posted out. I haven't bought my place. Right now I'm very comfortable in the army quarters. I don't feel the need to move from where I am."
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