You can’t control the numbers: Manushi Chhillar
Though her debut film Samrat Prithviraj didn’t do well, she looks forward to establishing herself in the film industry
“I STARTED PREPARING EVEN BEFORE I KNEW WHAT FILM I WAS DOING. INDIAN FILMS REQUIRE DANCE TRAINING AND I ENROLLED IN NATYA TARANGINI (RADHA AND RAJA REDDY’S ACADEMY) AND LEARNT KUCHIPUDI AS WELL. SINCE YASH RAJ WAS LAUNCHING ME, I HAD A LOT OF GUIDANCE.”
“I THINK IT IS A GREAT FILM. BUT THEN YOU CANNOT REALLY CONTROL THE NUMBERS. WE WATCH MANY FILMS AND WONDER HOW THEY DID SO WELL TOO — BUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE WATCHED THE FILM HAVE SAID GOOD THINGS ABOUT IT.”
Former Miss World Manushi Chhillar made her debut in the recently released Samrat Prithviraj opposite Akshay Kumar. Though the historical film directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi did poorly at the BO, the actress is not devastated – rather, she’s happy with the accolades she won as a newcomer.
“The past few days have been exciting. Whatever reviews the film may have got, people can see how we have worked in it and what we have done, and that’s a big relief. I am now waiting to see what comes up next,” she says.
Of course, Manushi would have loved it if the film had done a lot better. “I think it is a great film. But then you cannot really control the numbers,” she says philosophically. “We watch many films and wonder how they did so well too — but people who have watched the film have said good things about it.”
For the debutant, the best compliment she got came from her doctor parents – her father Mitr Basu Chhillar is a physician and scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and her mother is also a medic. “My parents are very excited and happy. They have watched every video and every teaser or song that has come out over a hundred times. After watching the film, they were happy with my performance. My dad told me, ‘You have done a good job and exceeded our expectations”, she says.
The studious girl who aspired to be a doctor like her parents, had cleared the All-India Pre-Medical Test and was in her second year of medical college when she won a beauty contest and then successfully represented India in the Miss World pageant.
Talking of the film, she said, “I was very clearly told that since this was a historical film, I would be compared with stalwarts who have already done historicals. I had to somehow match their performance. So I could not look like a newcomer.”
She had butterflies in her stomach, but the delays due to the pandemic gave her time to prepare. “I was new to acting and hence I was nervous about being able to do a good job. But the insecurity also helped me spend time on preparation. I started preparing even before I knew what film I was doing. Indian films require dance training and I enrolled in Natya Tarangini (Radha and Raja Reddy’s academy) and learnt Kuchipudi as well. Since Yash Raj* was launching me, I had a lot of guidance. Since Doctorsaab (Dwivedi) is a qualified doctor, we had points in common — I had wanted to become a cardiac surgeon before things changed. He guided me,” says Manushi.
“I was used to planning my life, what I wanted to study and how I went about it. But then things really didn’t go according to plan,” the newbie actress notes. “I now think that the way you can have control is how you react and make the most of it,” she adds.
“After becoming Miss World my life changed and I realized that I am a small part of the big world. I travelled to various countries and met everyone from their leaders to the underprivileged and it really changed me as a person and gave me a world view. It has also added a lot to the person I am today,” says the actress who has now wrapped up another film with Vicky Kaushal, directed by Vijay Acharya alias Victor.
“I cannot talk about my future projects till they are announced,” she says, when queried about what happens next.