Riding high on the tremendous success of Tanu weds Manu Returns Swara Bhaskar is now looking forward to Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo where she plays Salman Khan’s sister. Swara, who played Payal in Tanu Weds Manu and also its sequel, agrees that controversies are an important part of life, if one wants to be famous and remain in the news.
Swara Bhaskar talks about her aspirations, future plans and much more in a frank and candid interview with The Quint.
Q: Do you agree that controversies are important if one wishes to be famous and remain in the news?
A: Yes. Showbiz is run by the PR / publicity/ marketing industry to a large extent. It’s a perception based industry so you have to remain relevant at all times. Yes, this is an important aspect of being an actor.
Q: Your role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that of a very domineering woman. How much does your on screen character resemble your real life persona?
A: I don’t see Payal as domineering; I think Payal is straightforward and frank. She bullies her husband, but that is more an act of love and a display of how comfortable Payal and Jassi’s relationship is. Just like her, I am quite straightforward as a person, I am clear headed about my opinion, I am confident, I have a temper (smiles) and yes, I guess I bully my family (laughs)! But I don’t know if I will make as good a wife and mother as Payal. And if I was Payal, I would want a career! (smiles)
Q: Your father is a retd. Naval officer and defence strategist, and your mother a Professor of Literature and Cinema Studies. Given this academic background how have you grown up to be an actress?
A: I was a big Chitrahaar fan as a child. I wanted to be in Chitrahaar. That was the real seed of my desire to be an actress. Then of course I forgot all about this secret dream.
It was when I was doing my masters in Sociology from JNU, and training in theatre with IPTA-JNU, and under N.K. Sharma in Act One in Delhi when I decided to move to Bombay to try and break into Bollywood. It sounded like a crazy, impossible idea even to me but I decided that now was the time to give all insane ideas a try. When I told my parents, they were a bit taken aback, because it was completely out-of-the-blue for them. They thought I’d be taking the GRE and applying to the USA to Ph.D programs that year!
I arrived in Bombay with a girl-friend, both of us literally loaded with boriya-bistar, landed at VT station and stared at the sea of taxis around us. I didn’t know anyone in the city, let alone Bollywood, no contacts, no connections, I had never lived away from my parents, I didn’t have a proper place to stay and I didn’t know how to cook!
I worked my way into my roles mostly through auditions and meetings and though Madholal Keep Walking (2010) was my first release, it was when Tanu Weds Manu (2011) happened that in some sense my little boat came into some good winds in the often rough Bollywood seas. Touchwood! (Smiles and knocks her own head).
So really the decision was easy, but the journey has been often laborious and hard. A bit like love, it’s easy to fall in love but tough to maintain the relationship.
Q: If you weren’t an actress, what field of work would you be in?
A: If I was not an actress I would be a teacher I think in a school or college, or working in a grassroots NGO; but probably still fantasizing about being an actress! **smiles**
Q: What is your favourite role till date?
A: Bindiya in Raanjhanaa (2013) and my role in the forthcoming Nil Battey Sannata.
Q: Who would you like to do a film with in the future?
A: I’d like to work with Aditya Chopra, and Vishal Bhardwaj. I’ll always continue to like working with Aanand Rai. Acting alongside Amitabh Bachchan sir is a dream. Other than that, I am always attracted more to the role and the script and the potential these offer to me to perform, rather than individuals.
Q: In short, describe Swara.
A: Confident, opinionated, friendly, drama-queen, always –in-crisis, always late, prone to foot-in-mouth disease (laughs) but good at heart so always deserves to be forgiven.
(Connect with Jaideep Pandey on Twitter:@PandeyJaideep)