/ Shotgun Junior Superstar: Our exclusive interview with Sonakshi Sinha

by Anokhi Admin

Shotgun Junior Superstar: Our exclusive interview with Sonakshi Sinha

Dec 18, 2014

Sonakshi Sinha

The daughter of film royalty Poonam Chandiramani and Shatrughan “Shotgun” Sinha, the vivacious Sonakshi (affectionately known as “Shotgun Junior” in Bollywood circles) has been making waves of her own on the silver screen in recent years.??She enjoyed one of the highest profile acting debuts imaginable alongside Salman Khan, in Dabangg (Fearless), back in 2010, and has been a part of the elite B-Town 100 Crore club ever since.

Starting off as a costume designer, she lost 30 kg to become the village belle that Khan romanced, and garnered the love of cinema fans and critics alike, picking up a Filmfare for best debut.??While her résumé has had its share of hits and flops, she continues to rake in the awards while building her fanbase. ANOKHI got the chance to catch up with Sonakshi at a pivotal juncture in her career, with her first pan-Indian movie release, Lingaa, taking the box office by storm worldwide with a truly humongous number of screens allocated to it.

She will also soon be seen in cinemas around the world in the much anticipated Tevar (Attitude), a remake of a chart-busting South Indian film of the same name, releasing earlier this month on January 9.? ?

You’re Rajinikanth’s heroine now, with 2014’s biggest pan-Indian release, Lingaa, in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Tell us about that.

??It was a wonderful experience, as it’s a phenomenal film. What a complete pleasure it was, working with Rajini Sir. I don’t think I could have asked for a better debut in the South, in the Tamil film industry . . . It was very intensive, as the part I was doing was based in the 1940s. To get the era to look right, the costumes, the sets, the locations — they all had to be really authentic. I shot the film over a period of 60 days. Quite a demanding task — a tough but fulfilling journey.?? ?

The director, K.S. Raviku, is an absolute force in South India. How was your experience with him? ??

He is a legend. I don’t speak or understand Tamil, and he is a wonderful director, as he was a really big help to me. He made sure I was comfortable in whatever way I needed to work, to get the lip synch right, and he would allow me to read off placards, or he would prompt me so I could repeat what he was saying immediately afterwards. He would even explain the meaning of each and every word, so I would get the expressions right.?? ?

Will you be doing more in the South, considering this is your “South debut,” as you put it?

??If I get the right script; they’re so rich in content in the South, which is why so many of their films get remade into Hindi. With the right script, I’d love to do it, as now the language barrier has been crossed and I feel I can pull off a Tamil film.?? ?

You’ve been working with another very bankable director, A. R. Murugadoss (Ghajini) for the remake of the mass hit Thuppaki (Holiday) with Akshay Kumar . . . ??

Yes, my next film is also going to be with Murugadoss, and it’s a first for both Murugadoss and me, as it is his first woman-centric film, and based on Kalaripayattu, the martial arts of Kerala. The special bit about this is that it’s going to be an action film, and I’m going to be delivering the action [laughs]. In the past five years of my career, I’ve been a part of so many action films, but I’ve always had to watch Akshay, Salman and Ajay doing the action, from the bench, so this is very exciting for me to be doing it all by myself.

?? ?Lootera was my top film of 2013 and your subtle acting came straight from the eyes — how did you hone this skill? ??

That was a special film for me and a film like that is very rare to come along. It took the life out of me and what is so rewarding, is the finished result and when people appreciate it as much as they did. The entire experience was wonderful for me. I feel you can’t learn to act with the eyes, so I can’t explain how I do it. Even when I was little, my mum always said I was a big Nautanki (theatre) and when I was in my teenage years in college, Salman [Khan] would tell me that I had a lot of “filminess” in my expressions, so I feel that the camera comes on, and I switch on [chuckles].?? ?

You light up the screen with your excellent dancing, as well . . .

??I guess it’s simply because I enjoy it and that’s what shows, that’s what translates into what you’re watching on screen. I started my dance journey with Prabhu Deva; whatever I’ve learned comes from his choreography, and I’ve been given better and better dance numbers as time went on. I’m so happy to have been a part of such memorable and catchy dance songs and I truly enjoy it.?? ?

As one of the film world’s most gorgeous women, do you have any beauty tips for our readers? ??

[Laughs] My beauty secrets are that I actually have none. A basic regime to follow — everybody has to find this for themselves. I’ve been blessed with good skin, from my mother and father, so I don’t really like to tamper much with it. When I’m not working, I stay away from makeup. Things like drinking a lot of water always help.?? ?

Will there be a Dabangg 3? The fans are clamouring . . . ??

Well, I hope so, as it’s become a franchise, with the first two films doing so well. Salman and Arbaaz are busy with their other ventures right now, so perhaps when they’re done this will be on the cards. They will make the announcement when the time is right, undoubtedly.?? ?

You’re in the much anticipated Tevar (Attitude), the remake of the hit Telugu film Okkadu (Only One), that kicks off Bollywood’s big film lineup in 2015. What can you tell us about that? ??

This is very exciting for me, as it’s a very earthy yet very young, hip, cool [film]. The team are all young. Arjun Kapoor, my co-star, and I are in the same age group. Our director Amit Sharma is brilliant and the response to the songs, the trailer, have elicited a great response. I have seen the original, to get the rough idea of the story, as when a film is remade everything is changed (places, characters, regional sensibilities), but the essence of the film is the story, which is kept as a constant. I see every remake as a new film and work on it with that in mind.? ?

?Being on Twitter, and having all eyes on you, how do you deal with the haters and critics?

Most of the time, I ignore the haters, as the thing with Twitter is that for every million people who love you, there are four haters. It’s negligible, so I pay no attention to it and sometimes.

??By Ashanti OMkar ?
Published in January 2015/The Movie Issue?