ALL GUTS, MORE GLORY! Sonakshi SINHA

Known for her spunk and spirit, she made quite the ‘dabangg’ debut. Her career arc has witnessed power-packed performances in movies such Lootera and Kalank, though she’s currently basking in the craze around Dahaad. A vision in ivory ensembles, Sonakshi Sinha is a revelation in this tell-all chat

My shoot today with HELLO! is my third or fourth with the magazine, and each time, it simply gets better and better! I’m sure there are many more to come… I always end up looking so glamorous in the photographs. I’m definitely saying “HELLO!” to many more such happy shoots this year!

FROM GLAMOUR TO GUNS

When Dahaad came my way, I was getting a lot of offers for roles that seemed repetitive and not challenging enough. The scripts were neither engaging nor exciting… So I’m glad I waited because Anjali Bhaati, my character on the show, really struck a chord in me somewhere.

The role of a sub-inspector was so well-written, portraying a woman living life on her own terms… I loved playing her! She was so real that every woman was able to relate to her.

And it was extremely liberating to don a cop’s uniform through all the 10 episodes! In fact, when I reached the set for the first time, the first thing Reema Kagti, our director, told me was, “Makeup kam karo, lipstick nahi lagana (wear less makeup, and no lipstick)!” I just had to concentrate on my performance without having to worry about the way I looked.

I’ve received compliments for the dialect I spoke — a mix of Rajasthani and Bihari — thanks to all the workshops we had and my dialect coach on set. It was quite cool to learn something new for the craft.

I’m pretty instinctive when it comes to choosing my roles. They need to stir something in me. All the projects that I’ve done so far, be it Lootera, Akira, or Double XL, have always been different.

FROM STRUGGLE TO STRENGTH