THE NEW KHAN ON THE BLOCK
Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s daughter Sara Ali Khan, who makes her Bollywood debut tomorrow with Kedarnath, reveals her humble, down-toearth nature, in a candid chat with City Times
SAIF ALI KHAN and Amrita Singh’s daughter started our conversation by saying Aadaab and apologising profusely for not being able to come to Dubai this week for the promotion of her debut film Kedarnath. “I was really looking forward to coming, but I was feeling under the weather and I thought that it would be best for me to rest because the release of the film is so close. I want to start by saying that I am so sorry, it’s very unlikely of me to do something like this.
“It would be really nice to come and see you guys. I have been stalking my team to get the Dubai media on the phone with me. And thank you for taking the time to talk to me,” said Sara while speaking to us from Mumbai on Tuesday.
All About Kedarnath
Kedarnath is written, directed and co-produced by Abhishek Kapoor who made Fitoor and Kai Po Che.
Sara is a confident debutant. She believes that she has given her heart and soul to the movie and now she wants the audiences to show their love for her film. “Kedarnath is something I am very passionate about, so it is quite obvious that I am nervous. When you are nervous, you want to channelise that energy into your work and I did that during the dubbing and shooting of the film. So everything that I could do, I have done. Now, I am not as nervous, but I am hoping that people would love the film as much as I have or even 5% of what I have because then we are good to go.”
Sara is making her debut alongside Sushant Singh Rajput in the film. The story revolves around a Hindu girl who goes on a pilgrimage to the Kedarnath temple in the Uttarakhand mountains. There she meets and falls in love with a Muslim boy who is her guide. As they grow closer, they face many obstacles, including familial disapproval and their contrasting backgrounds. When the rains that devastated the region in 2013 resulting in the Uttarakhand floods, the couple is forced to survive against the elements and face the ultimate test of their love.
Some critics have accused the film of promoting ‘love jihad’ following the release of the movie’s trailer.
The tagline of the film being ‘Love is a pilgrimage,” the actor believes that the film was like pilgrimage that her director took her on. Now she wants the audiences to experience it. “When I heard my writer Kanika Dhillon narrate the script, I couldn’t imagine not doing the movie. The world that she has created is so different. I hadn’t been to places like Rishikesh or Kedarnath. It is a very new kind of world. The film is so beautiful and authentic. Having been to Kedarnath for the shoot and the recce, one realises just how authentic the story is. The style of living there, the problems that one faces, the excitement to be there, the relationships, the way people talk, the dynamics of human bonding– it is all portrayed well. It is a beautiful world packed with lots of love and purity.”
Sara understood the dynamics of her character the moment Kanika narrated the story. She immediately felt that she knew the character and then began the process to become that girl. “The clarity in which my writer shaped my character in the bound script itself, I felt like I knew her and my job was to become her.”
Even though Kedarnath releases tomorrow, Sara is already ready with her second film Simmba with Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty which releases on December 28.
Acting is in her blood since both her parents are renowned actors but for Sara, the approval of the audience is the most important thing. “My parents have seen bits of the movie and they loved it. But they are my parents and they are anyways going to love it. But they always tell me that it is important to know what the audience will think of the film.”
Meet Sara – The real girl
This Columbia University graduate is
getting a lot of love for being candid in her interviews and other public events. When we asked her why everyone is in awe of Sara, she said that she does not know anything other than being real and she is surprised when people call her down-to-earth because she has no reason to not be.
“I am very real. It is not about being down-to-earth because why wouldn’t I be? I have had the fortune of working with people like Abhishek Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sushant Singh Rajput, Rohit Shetty – all of them have worked hard to achieve what they have whereas I am a rank newcomer. I believe, Inshallah, even if you achieve all your dreams, you should still be down-to-earth. But before you even venture out, I don’t think there is any other alternative. I am really just real, I am just starting out and it is a hectic job that requires you to act and if you are doing that even when the cameras are not rolling, then that’s a really confusing situation to be in for everybody.”
She is also very clear that she does not want to emulate anyone’s career, but wants to make her own individual journey though she respects Alia Bhatt the most from the current generation of actors. “In order to be successful, your individuality is the only thing that you can bank on. Do I look up to people? Yes, in my generation I think Alia Bhatt is the finest actor that we have. Overall, I am a die-hard Sridevi fan. I don’t want to emulate anybody, I want to work on my persona and that’s the only way I can function.”