Producing NH10 and Phillauri has been a “creatively satisfying experience” for Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma and she wants to continue making movies that “push the envelope”.
“It’s a very exciting time for me. I think I have found a long-term goal for me... I want to push the boundaries of what we understand about movies. There are so many entertaining and interesting things that can be done in this format. The power of cinema is really huge,” said Sharma.
The actress, who runs the production house Clean Slate Films with brother Karnesh, says they like to call themselves a start-up.
While NH10 was a hard-hitting drama, Phillauri — currently showing in the UAE; read our review here —, in which the actress is seen in the role of the friendly spirit Shashi, is a love story spanning generations.
Sharma says she decided to produce the movie by newcomer Anshai Lal on the basis of its premise. A NRI (non-resident Indian) ends up with a ghost after he is forced to marry a tree because of a fault in his astrology chart, just before his actual wedding.
“Existence of ghosts is a matter of belief but we have taken a leap of faith. We imagined a friendly one who is as scared of human beings as human beings are of her. Also, the premise of a boy marrying a tree and ending up with a ghost was interesting. We could tell a love story in this backdrop. We were able to create a beautiful cinematic moment,” Sharma said.
The 28-year-old actress says she could understand her character of Shashi as Lal’s writing was very good.
“With a character like this, you can’t attach too many elements to prop it up. When I understand a character, I can feel for it. And I understood where Shashi was coming from. I could understand her [insecurity] as a person. I didn’t watch that many ghost stories but the bride ghost has been a popular phenomenon. Our’s is a happier take on it.”
The film also stars Diljit Dosanjh, Suraj Sharma and Mehreen Pirzada.
