Actor Adah Sharma started her acting career with the most “unusual” film. While the movie, 1920 (2008) and her performance were lauded, it took her four years to land her second role. “With your first (film) people believe that you are that character. But to cast someone in another film for those who wear blinders is very tough,” states Hasee Toh Phasee (2014) actor.

Sharma entered the industry with the assumption that if you work hard, you excel. “When I entered, I didn’t know anybody. But I was like, ‘I can act and dance. Of course, I will get movies’. But (then) you realise, there were no rules. You realise that if you are not from the industry, it’s tough for opportunities to come by,” she mentions.

Talking about those “disappointing” days, Sharma recalls, “Of course, I cried. I had days when I signed a contract for a film and then I read in the paper that somebody else had got the film. And I was like, ‘How?’ I felt terrible, I was disappointed. It felt like the end of the world. But you can only dwell that much. You got to be okay with rejections.”

With 16 films to her credit in a decade-long career, she admits that being an introvert, the fact that she’s come this far without “much socializing, is magical”. The actor adds, “I would want it any other way.”