We first met in 2006 when you had just signed Om Shanti Om (2007). How different were you as a person then? Did you, at that time, anticipate your superstardom?
The person that I inherently am, when it comes to shyness and awkwardness, hasn’t changed. People talk of my success or confidence, but I am still such an introvert. I think a lot, I process a lot. Everything about me is internal, there is a lot going on in my head. But the little girl who left Bengaluru still exists in me. My upbringing and values are still the core of everything I do and every decision I make.
Did I anticipate the stardom? I knew I had a purpose; it’s just that my medium was cinema. My purpose was to make a positive impact. I wanted to challenge the system; I wanted to change ideas that people did not even question. Why can’t things be different or why can’t things be more than this? I knew I wanted to bring value and purpose into people’s lives and I just happened to do it through movies.
Q/ How is life after Pathaan (2023)? What has changed for you, work-wise, with a film that crossed ₹1,000 crore at the worldwide box office?
A/ It’s bizarre, because I’ve never been fascinated by numbers whether it was maths in school or the numbers of Pathaan. I was just happy that cinemas had come alive again, that people had come alive again. I was really grateful for that. But my journey sort of got its boost since Cocktail, 11 years ago. That is when people accepted what I could bring to the table as an actor. It’s because of what I bring to the table that Pathaan came to me. Of course, the film has now further cemented this.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 24, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 24, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
