I’ll forever be proud of a project like Chak De! India: Sagarika Ghatge

She might have done just one film based on sports (Chak De! India) in her acting career, but Sagarika Ghatge says that people only associate her with sports-based cinema. But it isn’t like the tag bothers the 32-year-old actor, who will soon be seen in the Marathi film, Monsoon Football.

“People think of me, and they think of sports — that’s actually a great thing. To be honest, I am not really bothered by it. I have always gone on with my gut feeling, and I will not say no to a film, just because it is based on sports or anything like that. If a character is good, the story is good, then I would do it and I will not think if it’s based on sports or not. I am not bothered if I get stereotyped as that,” says Sagarika.

The actor, since making her debut with Chak De! India in 2007, has done eight films. She acknowledges that the number of films be fewer than what many others have done in the industry, but insists that she prefers quality over quantity.

“I know I haven’t done a lot of films since Chak De! But I am not that kind of a person, who feels I need to be in a film just for the sake of it.”

Talking of choosing films and roles that matter, Sagarika says that her debut film helped women sportspersons get recognition in the country, and feels that India has come a long way in respecting women who play sports. “Jaideep Sahni wanted to write a film like Chak De! because there was this news about Indian hockey team winning a trophy, and there was absolutely no buzz about it. But fast forward to now, and you will see that a massive improvement has been made, and people recognise that women in our country can play and bring laurels to the country. I will forever be proud of a project like Chak De!,” she says.