I have to prove myself: Anisa Butt

Actress Anisa Butt, known to most by her role in the television series Ishaan by Disney, is excited about her first Indian themed international film Brahman Naman making it to the Sundance film festival. Talking about her shift from theatre to Bollywood, she says, “Essentially I am from London and came to India for a theatre production. Unfortunately that didn’t happen so I started auditioning for various roles while I was here and ended up being selected as the lead for Ishaan.”

Anisa made her Bollywood debut with Baat Bann Gayi and has also worked with actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for TV commercials. She shares, “I’m a great fan of Ranbir Kapoor and working with him is always a pleasure. He is very humble and absolutely focused on his work. After Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, we collaborated for a TV commercial directed by Rajkumar Hirani.”

Enthusiastic about Brahman Naman doing well, Anisa elaborates on the theme of the movie, saying, “The content of the movie is very new and will interest the young audience. It is the journey of three adolescent boys who are exploring their curiosity for sex and their desire to lose their virginities.” She adds, “The scenes and dialogues in the film are not crude or obscene in any manner and only meet the requirement of the plot. Interestingly, there are a lot of characters in the film and yet every small character plays a significant role.”

Anisa plays Anita, the most popular girl in school who seeks attention and dates the best-looking boy Ronnie, played by Siddharth Mallya. “When the cast of the movie was being finalised I had auditioned for another role but the directors believed that Anita’s character was more suitable for me,” she says.

Sharing her experience of working with Siddharth Mallya, Anisa says, “The entire team of Brahman Naman was great to work with. Siddharth is hard working. He cracks jokes and is fun on set, adding to everyone’s energy. I wish him luck and hope he does well!”

The actress has a few films in the pipeline and is therefore working on her Hindi speaking skills. She affirms, “It has been tough to establish myself as an actor here. Born and raised in London, my Hindi is not fluent and hence I am taking classes to polish it. Being an NRI, I have to break barriers to get work.” She further adds, “I am open to all kinds of projects that offer interesting content but before directors start considering me for the kind of roles I would like to do, I have to grow and prove myself as an actor.”

She is currently working on a web series set to be launched in August. The show is a sexual comedy with a lot of innuendos. She shares, “Directors are now experimenting with web series and this gives great opportunity to upcoming actors and opens avenues for fresh talent.”

Anisa feels that her journey so far in Bollywood has been great as she is gaining acceptance in the industry. “I am doing better work than what I started from. It interests me and I am not compromising on my choice of content as well. It is a good space to be in!” she concludes.