SONAKSHI TALKS ABOUT HER CO-STARS & HOT NEW AVATAR
Sonakshi Sinha talks to Nikita Wadhawan and Mamta Sonar about her aversion to the female-oriented label, her co-stars and the hot new avatar
Sonakshi Sinha is in a happy space. On the one hand, the actress who is extremely passionate about singing and dancing is judging a dance reality show and on the other she is all set to hit the screens in her latest avatar in Noor. The Dabangg girl is known for her bindass attitude and down to earth personality. She can easily fit into any role be it the girl-next-door or a glamorous heroine. In Noor she plays a journalist who like any other working girl wants her life to be both successful and hep.
Experiencing Noor
Not many are aware of it but Sunhil Sippy, an ad filmmaker, who is making a comeback to direction after 16 years (his directorial debut Snip! released in 2000), had directed Sonakshi in her first ever ad film just after her debut in Dabangg. “It was a wonderful experience, most organised film so far, wonderful team, we were done with film very fast and overall a great experience because the entire cast and crew got along like a house on fire. It was a very chilled out atmosphere. Nobody felt like we were meeting for the first time or working together for the first time; we were always a part of one group,” she shares.
Striking a chord
For an actor it is very important to get into the skin of the character and connect to its emotions. Sona connected instantly to Noor’s modern girl persona. “I immediately connected with the character, even while I was listening to the narration of the film. It was that quick connection because when you see the film you can see that the character is very relatable to today’s modern day girl who wants to achieve everything in life. Someone who wants to have a career, a relationship; she wants the perfect figure, she wants to party, she wants to work, wants to make something of her life, this is the story of every young girl today,” she says.
Her new BFF
But during the shooting of the film, Sonakshi managed to find a new BFF, a stand-up comedian and YouTube sensation Kanan Gill, who gained popularity with his web show
Pretentious Movie Reviews. “We got along very well from the very first day. He had come to do readings before we started the shoot because it was his first film. So the director wanted to make sure he was comfortable with the line and we started bonding from there. We both share a sense of humour and it is a lot of fun working with someone who is constantly finding humour in everything,” Sonakshi shares.
Why female-oriented?
After Kangana Ranaut, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi has also entered the league with doing back-to-back female-oriented films. But the Dabangg actor is averse to this kind of labelling. “I don’t like it when people categorise it as ‘female-centric’ film because we are actors, our job is to do films. When a male actor does a film nobody calls it a male-oriented. A film is a film at the end of the day. So I feel until we stop pinpointing it, how will women find equality?” she asks.
So how would she like us to call it? “I think instead people should ask me how you have started choosing such wonderful roles and such strong roles which empower women. I am very happy doing that and as an actor, it satisfies me to another level so I think for that personal growth is very important,” Sonakshi adds.
Body transformation
After Parineeti Chopra’s body transformation, the people are going gaga over Sonakshi’s weight-loss and the actor credits her new avatar to her being choosy about films and concentrating completely on fitness rather than weight loss. “I used to do two-three films and had no time for myself or work on my body. I would skip the gym or eat at odd hours and that kind of went against me in terms of my fitness but when I made the decision to make one film at a time a lot of time opened up for me, to do things that I really like. I feel that really helps you grow as a person, helps you achieve other goals for yourself like travelling, working out painting etc. Fitness for me now has become my way of life and I can’t do without it,” the 29-year-old actress says, who has worked with many actors who are extremely conscious about their fitness like Salman Khan and Arjun Kapoor.