All eyes have been on Sara Ali Khan since her Bollywood debut project, Kedarnath, was announced in 2017. The film has finally released after remaining stuck in controversies for quite long. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, Kedarnath is a love story set in the backdrop of the 2013 Uttarakhand floods,
starring Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead.
Sara, who had been waiting for the release of her first film for more than a year, is high on the compliments that are being showered on her. Like every other youngster, the 25-year-old hopes that she will be accepted by the audience the way her parents were. “There’s a long way to go. I hope the praises continue to shower.”
The actor has always been compared to her mother Amrita Singh—her debut film was Betaab in 1983—and she is happy about it. “Being compared to my mom is a huge compliment for me. I hope I achieve what she did in Bollywood, someday. I am a mix of my parents. I am like my father when it comes to speaking and making decisions, and emotional like my mom. I get attached to people and things,” she adds.
Though the film’s production began in June 2017, a tussle between the producers delayed the release.
Sara says, “It’s a pure love story. When you are in love, there is no caste or creed. It’s just love. Our film went through ups and downs. It was terrible when everything came to a standstill. I cried a lot. I was scared that the film won’t be completed. Still, we worked hard. I didn’t know what would happen. But I enjoyed working on the film. And in between, I signed Rohit Shetty’s Simbaa. And both the films are releasing back to back,” says the newbie, who is a fan of Sridevi and Aishwarya Rai.
Sara says she did not choose Kedarnath because it’s a love story and was a safe bet at the box office. “I don’t think anything is safe these days. I read the script and I loved it. Writer Kanika narrated my role, and it was the small nuances of the role, which caught my attention and I signed it.” Working with director
Abhishek was a learning process for her, she admits. “I was raw and new. I never went to a film school. Whatever I learnt was on the sets and he guided me through it so well.”
But it was not an easy journey. Some scenes were quite challenging. Sara had to dip in chilly water of the Ganges thrice for a scene. “It was a tough one but was also the most memorable scene from the film. Initially, I was cool about it. Once I went inside the water, I realised it was so damn cold. There are a lot of underwater scenes towards the end of the film. And I used to come out shivering after every scene. But the staff on the sets was very caring and they made sure I do not fall sick,” she adds.
Sara reveals that she always wanted to be an actor. “My parents brought us up very normally, but I was bitten by the acting bug. I used to practice advertisements and make videos when I was five years old. As a single mother, my mom always cushioned me and Ibrahim. We were provided with everything we asked for. But we were never allowed to go for parties or be on movie sets. To be honest, Kedarnath was the first film set I ever visited and spent time on. Dinner tables discussions were never about films. In fact, we spoke more about books, politics and news,” says Sara, who completed her graduation from Columbia University, New York.
Sara’s contemporary Jhanavi Kapoor’s film Dhadak has been a blockbuster, but that doesn’t worry her. “Everyone has their own journey. She did a good job and it feels good when people do good work,” adds Sara, who is known for being outspoken and frank.
She is all praises for Sushant, and says he was very helpful from day one. “I watched him on the sets on the first day, and wondered why he was repeating the same thing again and again. But on the second day, I realised that shots have to be repeated and you have to do better each time. Sushant is hard working and patient. He helped me a lot with flood and underwater scenes,” she adds.
Her next film Simmba is releasing on December 28.