Nushrat Bharucha on taking up roles that don’t work ‘for a heroine’s image’, an alleged tiff with Kartik Aaryan and why she needs to get out of Mumbai for a bit
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 30, 2019)

After playing the female lead in the Luv Ranjan-directed 2018 release, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Nushrat Bharucha will be seen opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in Raaj Shaandilyaa’s directorial debut, Dream Girl. In the comedy-of-errors, everyone is smitten by the male lead’s feminine alter ego Pooja and her voice.

Ask her if she did a double take before signing the film as the dream girl here is not her but the leading man and the actress says, “I took on a film like Pyaar Ka Punchnama and its sequel, in which I am the villain. Nobody wanted to do that role as it doesn’t work for a heroine’s image. I did it twice. Then, Sonu Ke… happened and in it, I am openly saying that I am not the heroine but the villain. My cinematic sensibility vis-a-vis my role depends on the film in question. If it is interesting, I will be a part of it.”

She describes her co-star as “chilled out” and her director as a “joke box” who “would crack jokes from behind the monitor all the time.” Another highlight for Nushrat was recreating the iconic Marathi track “Dhagala Lagali” for the film. Before shooting for the song, the actress called her stylist, saying that she wanted to recreate Madhuri Dixit’s “Humko Aaj Kal Hai” look from the 1990 film Sailaab. “I had wanted to do something like that ever since I saw it as a child. Then, I heard Riteish (Deshmukh) was coming on board and the song became even better as I am his fan,” she smiles.

There had been reports that she had had a falling out with Kartik Aaryan, her co-star in the Pyaar Ka Punchnama films, Akaash Vani and Sonu Ke Teetu Ki Sweety. “Aisa kuch bhi nahin hai,” she asserts, adding, “But I don’t blame people as we did too many films together early on in our careers. When you are working with someone for that long, you end up hanging out with them extensively, for readings and rehearsals. When you move on to another project, you are spotted with different people. It’s not like our equation has changed. I am sure we will work together again,” she says.

Buzz is, she has come on-board Luv Ranjan’s next, which reportedly features Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. “They are all rumours and speculations, and nothing officially has been put out. The only thing they have announced is that Ajay (Devgn) sir, Ranbir and Luv sir are doing something together. I would like to leave it at that,” she asserts.

After the release of her new film, Nushrat will go on a vacation. “One of my close friends is getting married, so six-seven of us girls are taking off to some island in Thailand for her bachelorette by September-end. I went to Australia in March but in the last few months, I have worked so much that I think I need to get out for a while,” she signs off.