Revealing that she enjoyed the jokes featuring her, Anushka Sharma says online traction proves her part has resonated with viewers
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 4, 2018)

You can count on Anushka Sharma to take a joke in the right spirit. Ever since the trailer of her upcoming film, Sui Dhaaga ­— Made In India, dropped online, netizens went into an overdrive creating memes about her expressions in the promo. Sharma's co-star Varun Dhawan showed that he was in on the running gag when he shared a few memes on his social media handle.

Talking to mid-day, the actor reveals that the online jokes left her in splits, too. "I thought the memes were hilarious. I kept sharing them with Varun, Sharat [Katariya, director] and my friends." Their entertainment value aside, Sharma argues that the virality of the memes proves that Mamta, her character in the drama, has resonated with the audience.

"It is a compliment that my character has been stuck in people's head after they watched the trailer. Mamta has become a figure that everyone identifies with. Memes have become a common feature today. People actually dedicate time to make them. But in our case, it happened naturally and that too, on a huge scale."

Considering the online traction has made the audience sit up and take notice of her character, she hopes her portrayal of an embroidery artist from the heartland strikes a chord with them. Though the film's central theme — that of celebrating the spirit of self-reliance — made her give a nod to the project, she admits it was challenging to understand the psyche of a small-town woman.

"It takes a lot of work to play a character that you have not lived. I had to be restrained. Also, Sharat tries to keep the narrative as raw and real as possible. You can't follow his vision unless you are completely immersed in the character."