Bollywood actress Kiara Advani, who played the lead in one of Bollywood’s most polarising films ‘Kabir Singh’, describes herself as an eternal optimist.
The provocative star-crossed romance — in which she played Preeti, the docile sweetheart of Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor) a top surgeon who cannot handle a break-up — was blasted for glorifying a toxic hero and his casual misogyny. But Advani is unaffected by the barrage of criticisms and calls it a “special film” that defined her career.
“I like to see the good in everything,” said Advani in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
Advani’s ‘Kabir Singh’, directed by Sandeep Vanga and a re-make of Telugu blockbuster ‘Arjun Reddy’, was this year’s second highest grossing film with a box-office collection of Rs3.79 billion and has pumped up the popularity of its lead actors. Advani, whose credits include ‘Lust Stories’, felt that “overwhelming love” and glory while promoting her new comedy ‘Good Newwz’, out in the UAE on December 27.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet that the movie [‘Kabir Singh’] got so much love. Very recently, we were in a crowd of 8,000 people to launch a song from our film ‘Good Newwz’. The minute Akshay [Kumar] sir and I got on stage, they started chanting ‘Preeti’ and that moment will remain with me forever. It made me realise that the film has touched so many lives. These two character have gone beyond the film… Certain characters stay with you for life,” said Advani.
There’s no looking back for Advani, who is getting used to her rockstar welcome. She will wrap up 2019 with an ensemble comedy ‘Good Newwz’, directed by Raj Mehta. The comedy about an IVF mix-up in a pair of pregnant mothers forms the spine of ‘Good Newwz’. Advani plays Monica Batra, an expectant mother. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kumar also play prominent roles in this quartet comic ride.
“She’s a loud Punjabi lady who’s full of life and energy… It was liberating to play Monica Batra because as an actor you want to play different kind of roles. I got into this character right after the schedule of ‘Kabir Singh’. I had to change gears mentally and that was challenging. It was fun to play someone so exaggerated and fun.”
According to Advani, her character in ‘Good Newwz’ is someone who’s sprightly and spiritual and believes that a child is a miraculous gift even if it has an unusual circumstance around it.
Punjabi pop star and actor Dosanjh plays her nifty husband in this comedy. Right from the word go, she found the script of ‘Good Newwz’ riveting.
“When my director Raj narrated the script to me, I was laughing hard and I was emotional too. There was an array of emotions that I went through … It’s a beautiful family entertainer that everyone can relate to,” said Advani. But comedy is a tough genre, believes the actress.
“It’s the hardest thing to make somebody laugh and fortunately I got the privilege of working with seasoned actors and I got to learn a lot from them. Diljit, Kareena and Akshay were super spontaneous and it was great to observe them.” She describes Kapoor Khan’s acting process as ‘switch-on/off’ actress, while Kumar is one of the most spontaneous actors with impeccable comic timing, believes Advani. Her on-screen husband Dosanjh reserves all his energy for the final shot in front of the camera.
Apart from humour, her film also attempts to bring the unsavoury aspects of pregnancy out of the closet. It will be a ringside view of expectant mothers and hapless husbands.
“During a scene my character lets out a fart and the men both make a small joke about it. We took it light heartedly… These are such normal things. Why not? It’s normal to talk about it.”
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‘Good Newwz’ is out in the UAE cinemas on December 27.
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QUOTE UNQUOTE
“It has has been a beautiful year,” said Kiara Advani about closing 2019 with a bang.
“I feel all pregnant women have this glow and it’s a blessing to be a mother and to give birth … I hope it is something that will happen to me at some point in my life. It was fun to play the part,” said Advani.
“Pregnancy is a two-way thing and if the husband helps the woman in every way he can during the pregnancy than it’s ok to say, ‘we are pregnant’ … It takes two hands to clap,” said Advani, when asked about couples saying ‘we are pregnant’.
