Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; February 19, 2019)

She’s at her fittest best right now, and the actress feels that she’s in a much better place to take risks with her professional choices. While her year began with Mungda’s redux version, the coming months have a lot more action in store.

With three films gearing up for release in 2019, one on the floors and Dabanng 3 ready to roll out in April, Sonakshi Sinha’s plate is full.

And that’s how she wants it to be. In a chat with BT, the actress talks about changing the priorities in her career, the kind of roles she savours and how dancing sets her free. Excerpts:

You’ve hardly been in Mumbai since December last year. Your social media pages are full of photographs of you holidaying abroad. You seem to be really living it up...
Yes, I am living out of a suitcase; I love travelling. Something or the other keeps coming up. My mother called me up the other day and said, ‘Beta, you’ve been gone for too long.’ I had to pacify her. There are times when I like to switch off and take off to some place. I love travelling with my friends. Besides that, my work has also taken me to some amazing places.

You said that you are in a happy space personally and professionally. So, what has been the change that brought about this state of mind?
Over the years, I have realised that you need to be in a space where you find happiness in smaller things. What’s the point waiting for something bigger to happen? It could be a phone call from a best friend or my director clapping after a great take. These small things that happen everyday have a greater capacity to make you happy if you allow them to do so. The search for happiness is never-ending, but you need to know where to stop.

You have a busy year at the movies in 2019. With three releases planned and an untitled film already on floors, there’s also Dabangg 3 waiting to start...
I am starting off (Dabangg 3) in April. It’s homecoming for me. This franchise ensured that I never had to look back. Salman Khan recently told me that I have to look like Rajjo from the first part. Someone who heard that in the gathering said, ‘She looks younger than that.’ So, on a serious note, I am physically in a great zone. I don’t have to work on my body. I just have pick up Rajjo from where I left. Then there’s Mission Mangal in which I am playing a scientist, there’s also Kalank… I mean I have a thali in front of me.

What are your favourites in this thali that you just spoke about?
I’m partial towards comedies, but I will savour a great role in any genre. If a role is challenging enough and exciting, I will do it. It just has to have something more than the usual for me to do. That’s the only box I need to tick.

Has that always been your criteria while choosing films?
No, it has changed over a period of time. For an actor, priorities are different at different times. Our cinema has changed a great deal in recent times, and a lot of different films are finding acceptance now. It feels great to take chances with roles. While every stage of my career has been fulfilling, I feel that my film choices have undergone a change. Every movie I did helped me reach a position where I can actually take more risks. It has strengthened me and taught me to shoulder an entire film.

So, you think you are in a better position to run risks today?
I would think so, but that is also because of the kind of films I have done in the past. Even back in the day, I ran a risk. When I was doing the so-called masala films, I decided to go ahead with Lootera (2013), though I was warned against it. Today, that is one of my most talked-about roles. So, I have always taken risks, but today, I can take even more. Commercial films have given me the cushioning to be able to take up films like Akira (2016) and Noor (2017). Today, irrespective of the kind of subject a filmmaker is exploring, they are not hesitant to reach out to me. They know I will fit into their world easily because I can switch between characters.

Lately, you seem to have developed a lot of love for dance. If you are not seen in a regular dance number in your film, you happily step in for a cameo in another. For example, your recent number, Mungda...
It’s something I enjoy. I don’t work too hard to get the steps right because I love to dance. It helps me to enjoy and express myself. In fact, dancing sets me free. I’m the happiest on the dance floor and I let that show. Maybe, that is what people appreciate. I feel free-spirited when I’m dancing.