Anushka Sharma, who has managed to amass considerable popularity in Bollywood — which is notorious for being tough on outsiders — says stardom is more accessible today than it ever was.
The actor-producer, who wants to play a variety of roles, however, still feels getting titles such as the ‘King/Queen of Romance’ is a tough gig. “It’s not common to give somebody a tag like ‘King of Romance’ [Shah Rukh Khan] now. It’s a special thing. I don’t think that something like this... like we gave Mr [Amitabh] Bachchan ‘The Angry Young Man’ tag... can happen now.
“I feel it will not happen any more because the meaning of stardom has changed completely. It is not what it used to be earlier. Stardom is more accessible today,” she said.
“During Amitji and Shah Rukh’s times, the meaning of stardom was different. Today it has changed. Still if it is there, then I feel as an actor you should accept everything that the audience gives you.
“It is love that you are receiving from the audience, it’s a kind of acceptance that you are getting. I don’t need any such kind of tag because I don’t believe I am capable of being able to fulfil that tag,” added the actress, who was last seen on-screen in Jab Harry Met Sejal.
Despite starring opposite big names on the silver screen, Sharma has held her own and won plaudits for projects such as Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, PK, Dil Dhadakne Do and Sultan. She says that’s because she has never felt anxious about sharing the frame with them — nor has she ever been star struck.
She said it helps to be “unaware” of the actor who stars with you and seeing him as the “character he is playing”.
“There are a lot of feelings which you don’t speak on-screen, but it gets denoted through some emotion or facial expression. I feel that the more I will be real, I will be relatable also,” she said.
As a producer, Sharma has backed offbeat films such as NH10 and Phillauri. She says her satisfaction lies in constantly evolving and indulging in work “of any relevance”.
“I feel you get some kind of diversity in your career by doing different films. That can only happen if you are working with different directors.
“I have had the fortune of working with big directors which every actor would have dreamt of. I have worked with names like Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, Karan Johar and Vishal Bhardwaj... Only a director can add diversity to an actor’s filmography,” added Sharma, who will next be seen on-screen in Pari.
