'IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD VERSATILITY'

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari says it has taken a lot of effort and time to get to work with people on her wish list; she doesn’t let failure bring her down

In Aditi Rao Hydari’s sevenyear journey in Bollywood, highs and lows have been aplenty, but the actor is yet to experience commercial success. Working with popular actors and filmmakers in films such as Delhi 6 (2008), Rockstar (2011) and Wazir (2016) created better opportunities for Aditi, but her projects in the Hindi film industry have largely failed to make an impact at the box-office.

The actor admits, “Things like failure, rejections etc do cross my mind”, but she makes it a point to not let them stay for long. “There will be a fleeting regret or a fleeting thought over a role that I lost out on... I feel, there are so many people who struggle to do good work [in the industry]. Forget good work, just work. There are various reasons that are not in your control. Maybe, I didn’t know the people or [about] the project or I didn’t have the right backing, so I can’t always look back and sulk,” says Aditi, who starred in the recent Sanjay Dutt-starrer, Bhoomi, as Dutt’s on-screen daughter.

She’s now geared up for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati (now Padmavat). Reflecting on her filmography, Aditi says, “It takes time to build that versatility, get parts you want to play and work with people you want to work with. But, it’s all a process. You have to take it in your stride and take one step at a time. The point is to be a lambi race ka ghoda (to last long),” she says.

If it’s a step forward, I am on the right path — that’s Aditi’s guiding mantra. “I’ve built this all up from knowing nothing and being [a] nobody, not even having any PR team of my own. I come from a protective space and continue to be naive. But then, you sort of learn... I don’t want to crib about stuff, so I always look at the right side of things,” she concludes.

PHOTO: ROHAN SHRESTHA Aditi is part of the upcoming film Padmavati (now titled Padmavat)