Anushka Sharma on acting being the job she knows best and why promoting a film is more exhausting than shooting for it!
Harshada Rege (DNA; February 16, 2015)

Anushka Sharma is all set for a long series of interviews to promote her forthcoming film NH10, which also has her making her debut as a producer. Disaster strikes when half-way through the interview, I realise that the recorder has stopped working. But the actress stays unfazed and offers to answer the questions again, if need be. Later on, she mentions that promotions require a lot of patience. Obviously, the actress has her battle gear on…

So what happened first? Did you decide to turn producer or did the script come to you?
Oh, it was definitely the script that prompted me to turn producer. I wanted to give everything to the film. I want to back the film 100 per cent. I just wanted to get the film made. I didn’t want to just take an actor’s fee and be done with it. I wanted to make the movie in the best way possible. It’s a small film. I knew that we could make the movie the way it needs to be made.

Are you a nervous first-time producer?
I didn’t have any expectations when the trailer came out. When you don’t expect anything, it’s easier. It’s best to stop expecting. The reactions to the trailer have been great. That’s very encouraging.

Traditionally, women-oriented movies have been considered risky propositions, but in 2014, movies like Queen and Mardaani did well at the box-office. What do you think changed?
I think the audience has always been ready for good movies. And I think that we are now giving them that. Queen and Mardaani did just that. They told stories in an interesting manner. Yes, these movies may not get the sort of initial that a movie with a major male actor would get, but if the movie is good, it will do well at the box-office. This is where budgeting comes in. How you make a movie will impact its business.

PK was one of the highest grossers this year. Looks like this is the big hit every actor needs on their resume…
The film was appreciated for what it conveys. It talks about being good to each other. We don’t pay attention to these things because we are so absorbed in other things. The message was simple: To help each other instead of doing some other thing. But the movie doing so well just proves that people want to believe in such things.

NH10 seems to be heading for an ‘A’ certificate…
We’re still editing the movie. We will apply for an ‘A’ certificate, but will see what the Censor Board decides on as per their guidelines.

But won’t an ‘A’ certificate take away a huge chunk of the audience? Isn’t that a worry for you, especially as a first-time producer…?
We would love for everyone to watch the film, but we have to follow the guidelines of the Censor Board. As creative people, we want to keep the story as real as possible because that’s the kind of movie it is. Even in the trailer you can make out that the movie is extremely real. We are staying close to the script and saying the story as it is. That’s why we’ll apply for an ‘A’ certificate.

Most actors say promotions are turning out to be as exhausting as making a movie. True?
Not AS exhausting… MORE exhausting. They are exhausting because it’s selling and that requires salesmanship. That’s not my job. My job is to act. Some people enjoy promotions, I don’t! You answer the same question again and again. It takes a lot of patience.

What’s your take on the focus on being in the Rs 100-crore club?
I have zero take on it. Films do well because they are good. I don’t think I can watch a film — and it can be a crap film, but do Rs 100 crore business — it would mean nothing to me.

How was it working with Ranveer Singh again in Dil Dhadakne Do?
It’s been great. I have worked the most with Ranveer, in two films before DDD – Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. I share an easy chemistry with him because we have known each other for so long. And that is something you see on screen, too. That is because we have a genuine fondness for each other. For me, it’s great fun shooting with him because he has a lot of energy about him, which is very rare.