As she bids adieu to 2021, Sonakshi Sinha looks back at the year, which she says was full of unexpected situations. However, she has realised that personally, it wasn’t that bad a year for her. The actress, who believes in only seeing the positives in any situation, was glad to spend family time where she discovered a lot more about her family members. She is also happy that we regained a sense of normalcy and she shot for multiple projects that marked many firsts of her career. Read on:

When 2021 started, I thought it would only get better because how much worse could it get? Through the year, everybody’s life changed. People were thrown into unexpected situations, and they adapted to different things and moved on. There was no choice. Personally, I like to look at the positive side, like the family time I got to enjoy. I would barely get any time to spend with my parents. There was so much togetherness, and we got to know so many new things about each other. My mom was the happiest to have all three kids and her husband under one roof. My parents discovered that I enjoy spending time at home more than going out. I found out that my dad likes to travel so much that the lockdown was quite tough for him. That apart, I feel happy about the fact that this year we all got back to work.

With the arrival of vaccines, as things moved towards normalcy, I shot for three projects. I completed my first web show, which was pending since 2020. We shot it in early 2021 in a bio-bubble. It was something new that I got to experience. Then, as life started coming back to normalcy, I shot for my first horror-comedy, Kakuda. Then I flew to London for my film Double XL. So yes, it was quite a busy year.

Yes, it has been a year of many firsts for me. My first horror-comedy is Kakuda. It is a genre that was most unlikely for me because I am petrified of horror tales. The comedy part of it made it easy for me to do the project. I have done various kinds of films, so whenever something new comes along I feel the need to grab it. What interested me about my first web show is that for the first time I was getting to play a cop. I have been a part of so many films where all my heroes have been cops, so this time I said, ‘Why should boys have all the fun?’ I jumped on the bandwagon to play a badass cop. I also shot for the film Double XL, and it is quite a special project. It deals with body image, weight issues and the challenges people face; hence it’s an important subject to be highlighted. I was easily convinced to play the part as it is something I have personally been through.

(Laughs!) You saw how everybody was getting married one after the other this year. I mean thoda break lelo yaar! The post was just for laughs, I wish them a happy life. As far as I am concerned, I am somebody who wanted to get married ever since I was 16. My ambition in life was to grow up and get married. So, I will always feel that pinch till the day I get married. On a serious note, there is time for everything, and one cannot rush into something so big. I think it will happen when the time is right and when you find the right person. I have realised that the more you chase it, the more it runs away from you. You have to let it come to you. I am very happy in my workspace. I have learnt to chill, and I am going to relax and let it come to me.

Zaheer is like my best friend. We laugh off this news because it is very funny. We have worked in Double XL together. I really appreciate him as an actor. I think he was very good in his first film, Notebook. His role in Double XL is drastically different from what he did in his debut film. I think he is very talented and definitely someone to watch out for.

I cannot speak anything about this project right now. Let the producers do the talking. As far as the filmmaker is concerned, I love the kind of cinema he makes. His films are opulent, grand, visually captivating and boast of phenomenal music. Over the years, he has established his style of cinema. Out of all his work, my favourite has been Khamoshi: The Musical.

I think it has been great, and I feel like it is going pretty well for me based on the fact that I have always been very instinctive about the films that I choose. I think people measure success in different ways. I have been a part of films that did extremely well or might not have done well. But honestly, I don’t measure my success based on that. I need to enjoy the work that I am doing and also learn something from it. In the future, I want to do roles that challenge me or push me to my limits and show me in a different light as an actor. I want to surprise people as well as entertain them. So, yes, I think I am just going to follow what I have been doing so far.