Bollywood actress Sanya Malhotra, who played the lead role of a Tamilian bride in the romantic comedy ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ streaming now on Netflix, claims she did not anticipate the backlash that came their way because of the movie.
The visually stunning film was about a good-looking couple navigating an arranged marriage in a traditional South Indian household with a long-distance twist. However, it was blasted for being an inauthentic and a stereotypical representation of Tamilians at large.
The tired tropes in films about South Indians made by talents from the North (such as Tamilians being a bunch of Rajinikanth-loving people, eating rice from a banana leaf and blowing into a conch set) were called out.
But Malhotra, who made her debut with the stirring wrestler drama ‘Dangal’, defends her choices.
“As an actor, I didn’t anticipate this … I was shocked. In my first film, I played a Haryanvi and in ‘Photograph’, I played a Gujarati, and in ‘Pataakha’ I played a Rajasthani … So when I got offered ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’, I thought it was an opportunity to learn something new,” Malhotra told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
But she’s one of those few actors in Bollywood who isn’t precious or hypersensitive about her craft or her career choices.
Even when she learned that this journalist also believed that she was miscast in that film, she sportingly took it in her stride and thanked her for being honest. Malhotra, 29, is refreshingly democratic and large-hearted when it comes to handling criticism.
“I never thought about the casting honestly … Never thought this is something that I need to keep in mind as an actor … I look at acting as a job … And remember, we can’t always play us. If I play a psychopath killer in some film, they won’t cast a psychopath right,” said Malhotra with a laugh.
In an ideal world, Malhotra believes that actors should have the liberty to play any role or character — geography, race or nationality no bar. Malhotra joins a long list of talents such as Scarlett Johansson who believe that ‘art should be immune to political correctness’.
“While many had reservations about the casting … the only thing I could control was performance and my homework for the character … I am the kind of actor who keeps a journal and writes everything down about her character,” said Malhotra.
In all fairness, this self-made talent — despite not being a South Indian — was endearing and earnest as a feisty sari-clad Tamilian bride in this uneven romance about a new marriage gone wonky. Her co-star was actor Bhagyashree’s son, Abhimanyu Dassani, as her straight-laced husband. Of the two, it was Malhotra who did the heavy lifting here and came out shining. And that’s the growing charm of this actress. In just five years, Malhotra has bolstered her career with a string of assured roles and characters.
Later this month, this actress who’s credited as actor Aamir Khan’s discovery in ‘Dangal’, will also roll out her new romance ‘Love Hostel’, also starring Vikrant Massey on the Zee5 streaming platform on February 25. ‘Love Hostel’ is about a pair of rebellious lovers who fight to remain together even when their society dictates they can’t be united. Malhotra looks back on her journey with fondness.
“I am very happy as an actor in these five years because I have gotten to work with such amazing directors and actors. I have a learned a lot about acting and filmmaking from there … I feel I am on the right path and I am quite satisfied with the work that I am doing. My roles and my work reflect my values. In ‘Pagglait’ or ‘Meenaskhi Sundareshwar’, I played characters that I wanted to watch as an audience and as a woman,” said Malhotra.
She’s doubly delighted that her films and roles are inspiring young women. She will soon be working with acclaimed director Meghana Gulzar of ‘Raazi’ fame and actor Vicky Kaushal in ‘Sam Bahadur’. She plays the wife of valiant Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, essayed by Kaushal.
“It’s definitely a dream come true for me as an actor to be working with director Meghana Gulzar. I can’t believe it and I can’t wait to start work with her,” said Malhotra.
She belongs to the new breed of actors who are hoping to play empowered, flawed and imperfect women characters in films that are steeped in realism and not fantasy.
“I am done watching us being represented badly on the big screen … And I am glad that changes are happening and I believe that I am a part of that change,” she said.
For the longest time, Bollywood films saw women with questionable agency and it was notorious for being male-driven. But the gender dynamics are shifting with young actresses taking on roles that aren’t just about playing second fiddle to the male lead.
‘Pagglait’ saw her play an ambivalent young woman who is widowed five months after marriage and isn’t grieving in the traditional sense, while 2018’s sleeper hit ‘Badhaai Do’ with Ayushmann Khurrana saw her play a sturdy girlfriend’s role to perfection.
She credits the directors and writers of her films for her steady rise in Bollywood.
“These characters were written so beautifully …. I got to learn so much not only about acting, but also something about the politics,” said Malhotra.
Very soon, she will also be seen sharing screen space with male actors including Massey (‘Love Hostel’), Kaushal (‘Sam Bahadur’) and Rajkummar Rao (‘Hit’).
“These are the actors that I have always wanted to work with! And I can definitely say that I actively manifested a film with Rajkummar Rao and the other actors. These are my dream jobs … But I always keep my character and the script in mind,” said Malhotra.
Her process is pretty straightforward. She believes in having an ‘open communication’ with all her directors and finding more about them and their process.
“For instance, for ‘Pagglait’ we did tons and tons of reading together and we got into the psychology of Sandhya. I have this habit of keeping a notebook for all the characters I play. I journal them and I want to think like them. So my process is very personal because I like to develop a back story about each of my characters,” said Malhotra.
Malhotra’s growing dominance in Bollywood is emblematic of all those actresses who would rather be over-prepared than winging it with their charisma and star-power alone. Actors like Alia Bhatt, Taapsee Pannu, Deepika Padukone, Radhika Apte and Fatima Sana Sheikh never shy away from a challenging or grey role. They tackle it with a mixture of determination and discipline.
“And, I really like all that nerdy stuff … I have this notepad and pencil ready at all points. I will jump at research and even for an ad I have never been on a set without learning all about it,” said Malhotra with a laugh. But she had to unlearn all of her natural instincts while working with Bollywood’s maverick director Anurag Basu for his outlandish comedy ‘Ludo’.
“For ‘Ludo’ we had no reading material for any of our characters. It was refreshing because I used to go on set without knowing what I was supposed to do in a particular scene. I was on my toes and taking instructions from someone like Anurag dada was refreshing too. I am open to whatever my directors want because at the end of the day, film is a director’s medium. Actors are just their puppets,” she said.
Malhotra is also a welcome antidote to the nepotism debate raging in Bollywood. The Indian film industry is notorious for promoting actors and talents who belong to an acting or a filmmaking dynasty. But Malhotra’s success is a testament to how talents without influence can also flourish. She was cherry picked by the ‘Dangal’ team after a rigorous round of auditions. She’s familiar with rejections, so what’s it about Bollywood that makes it incredibly desirable? Is it the fame, the money, or the access that a star gets that makes her want to stick around?
“I love acting and I love being in front of the camera. I can forget myself when I am playing those characters. You are living somebody else’s life for those 45 days of shoot and acting lets you forget about your own life … And films just make me happy,” Malhotra said. She attributes her growing popularity and appeal to keeping it real. Malhotra claims she stop seeking validation and acceptance on social media.
“I have accepted myself fully and completely with all my flaws,” she said. “A young woman who watches me or my social media should never feel that they should look a certain way to love themselves or be loved … Find validation in ourselves. I have realised that not everybody is going like what you do, but I have learned not to take yourself so seriously. That’s my mantra.”
I treat acting as a job and I don’t let my job overpower me or consume me completely.
