Despite having run across town for promotional events, Sonakshi Sinha looked the very picture of poise as she walked into The Asian Age office for a quick chat. The actress was accompanied by A.R.
Despite having run across town for promotional events, Sonakshi Sinha looked the very picture of poise as she walked into The Asian Age office for a quick chat. The actress was accompanied by A.R. Murugadoss, the director of her latest flick, Akira. The high action movie is Sonakshi’s determined step outside of the comfort zone of masala films and is right up Murugadoss’ alley. The duo talked to us about Sonakshi’s rigorous training, their equation and making women-centric movies. Excerpts:
A.R., how did you pick Sonakshi for the film Murugadoss: Sonakshi had given me a DVD of Lootera, and after I watched it, I really realised her value as an actor. At that time I thought we should do something —I wanted to give her a heavy character, a very good character that was equivalent to a hero. Then after Holiday released, I received the script for Akira. At first, I thought of making the film with a male protagonist, but then I thought, why don’t we make it woman-centric All the emotional scenes feel different when a male is playing it and when a female is — the emotions are heightened when a woman plays it. And then suddenly Sonakshi came to mind and I was sure that only she could pull it off. When playing a character like Akira, she needed to make it believable. There are fight sequences where she takes on five guys at once, and it might have seemed too far-fetched, if not for her acting skills. Sonakshi, how much time did it take you to prepare for the film Sonakshi: I started training around four months before the film. And while shooting, I was training throughout as well. Actually, I had to ask them to push it a little further by a month or two because I wanted to prepare thoroughly before I got into this role, thanks to the kind of action there is in the movie. I wanted it to look convincing, I wanted it to look like ‘okay, this looks real.’ Luckily, that’s the feedback I got from the trailer and I was like all my hard work has paid off. In a film like Akira, you are the hero, you’re the heroine; the first time the script came to you, did you think it’s a role that one really looks forward to Sonakshi: Honestly, yeah. It’s such a challenging role and when a director like him shows that kind of faith in me — especially when he hasn’t made a film with a female protagonist before — I jumped for it. Because he is a director I have worked with in the past, I knew that he knows exactly what he’s doing and he does it so well, so interestingly that we have a great film on our hands. The kind of action in the film that you do, there is so much of violence in your action scenes. With her, did you have to tone down the bloodshed Was there a plan like that Sonakshi: There actually wasn’t any bloodshed. Murugadoss: Only the climax; two or three shots. Otherwise the rest has a lot of action, but not much bloodshed.
Sonakshi, did you feel the strain of doing this kind of an action-packed movie Sonakshi: Every day I used to wake up sore; I used to be tired from the training. But you know what kept me going was that I used to keep telling myself to just pull through, and that this was going to be worth it. And honestly, it was. What was it like doing stunts for the first time Sonakshi: It was quite exciting doing these stunts, flying kicks and all of that. Learning something new and applying it is a good feeling. I’ve done four films with out action director, Anal Arasu — Dabangg 2, Rowdy Rathore, Holiday, and now, Akira; and this time he was directing me for action. So, he was also very happy with the way it turned out.
AR, how did you sketch her look for Akira Murugadoss: We did a look test. Before that, Sonakshi had cut her hair. We tried two-three looks and then we all liked one final look. For instance, we thought we’d put more kajal to make her eyes more prominent. We totally changed the body language, dialogue delivery; everything is different from her other films.
What are your views on feminism and do you think that this film portrays it Sonakshi: I believe in equality more than anything; I don’t believe in bashing up the other gender because of who they are. I strongly believe, that, more than anything, we should work towards gender equality. The thing about sir’s movies is that they are entertaining, hard-hitting and at the same time, they carry a message as well. In this film, I think there’s a very strong message of making yourself so strong that you don’t have to depend on anyone else to help you. No matter what situation life throws at you, you should be strong enough to fight back and pull yourself out of it. So, that message, I think will go across very strongly to girls, to women, event to kids.
Do you feel that a part of Akira is still stuck with you Sonakshi: Not at all, I don’t take my work home and that’s the thing with me, I switch on and off from my characters very easily. There was a point of time that I was doing two, three films at the same time, so while I was doing Lootera, I was also shooting for Rowdy Rathore and Son of Sardaar. So, I’m okay with the juggle. For me, the real challenge was to portray a character who has been through so much struggle in life that, probably, you and I cannot even imagine going through. Working with a director like A.R. really helped, because he makes you understand what that girl is supposed to be feeling at that point of time, the back-story, what happens later, all of that.
Are you going to continue to do multiple films at the same time Sonakshi: With Akira, I decided that I want to concentrate on one film at a time and I’m taking that forward. I get so much more time to paint, work out, spend time with my family and friends, to travel—I think all these experiences to feed the soul, so that you can work better.
What do you and Akira have in common Sonakshi: The fact that we are both very strong-willed women is something that Akira and I have in common. Other than that, we are not really that similar.
You also have quite a meaty role in the upcoming film Noor Sonakshi: With Akira, I made a promise to myself that I want to do roles that challenge me in some way or the other. Whether it’s a role like Akira or playing a RAW agent in Force 2 or Noor. I am very happy that there’s this shift in the kind of films being made while keeping women in mind, giving them really good roles. And I’m happy to be a part of that now. I feel like I’ve tasted blood with Akira and I just want to sink my teeth into roles like this.
Would you go back to a Dabangg I love watching those kinds of films; they’re very entertaining. I love the song, and I love the dance. But even if I were to do another Dabangg, I would want my role to be something that would satisfy me in terms of creativity. No 20-day roles anymore.
What did your parents think of Akira My dad loved the film so much that he’s watching it again today. My mom was also there she loved it. My dad was shocked, he said, even he hasn’t worked so hard for a role. But then, my dad is like my biggest fan; he loves everything that I do (laughs).
