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I WAS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE, BUT NOW I HAVE MATURED: ATHIYA
The actor talks about why she has done only two films in a span of three years, and maturing into a sensible person
Actor Athiya Shetty, daughter of actor Suneil Shetty, made her debut with the 2015 film Hero, opposite Sooraj Pancholi (son of actor Aditya Pancholi). However, in three years since then, she has done only one other film, Mubarakan (2017) opposite Arjun Kapoor. Ask her why did she take this break when it’s critical for a newcomer to be visible everywhere, and she says, “Earlier, I used to feel you can plan your career in a certain way and ‘I am going to wake up in the morning and have an agenda’. But [later on I understood that] it’s essential that your career be organic, things [need to] unfold at the right time. I know one thing [for] now, that as you grow older and learn more about yourself, you realise certain [important] things [about life].” She adds, “I am the happiest [when I am] on a film set, in front of the camera. But this year, I want to work more, and not take this much time [off] again.”
Athiya is now in talks for a film opposite actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. She reveals that it wasn’t as if there was ever a shortage of scripts. “I was getting scripts, but for me, [agreeing to it] should come from the gut. I feel that my superpower is my intuition. It’s what I rely on. If I read something and connect with it, I say ‘yes’. But if I am left questioning it and taking [longer time than usual] to decide, then I know I am not supposed to do it.”
But does she ever get bothered by the fact that other female actors, her peers, keep churning out films at a regular pace? She says, “I was super-competitive when I first came into the industry. I would see what this or that person is doing. But as I have grown and matured, I’ve realised that it’s not important. Timing is essential. It’s vital for you to do what you have to do. Competition doesn’t bother me; it motivates me to work harder.”