She stands tall with her achievements today, infact Sonakshi Sinha has transformed herself with all the workouts and mixed martial arts that she trained for in Akira. Though her last two films, Tevar and Akira, have not been great hits, the feisty young actress is not bogged down by it. This time she is bouncing back with three films in hand, Force 2 with John Abraham, Noor directed by Sunhil Sippy and the remake of Yash Chopra’s 1969 film Ittefaq.
“I have been a sportsperson all my life and anything physical comes easily for me. Force 2 is an interesting film. I play a RAW agent, who is an alpha in herself. I could relate a lot to the character,” says Sonakshi about her next release.
All praises for her co-star John, she says, “Matching punches with John was a lot of fun. He is very supportive and takes care that there are no injuries. It all comes with a lot of experience.” At the same time, she did not train much for the role. “I had already trained in mixed martial arts during Akira, so it came in handy. There are not many hand-to-hand combat scenes, but there are guns and chases and internationally stylised scenes. Director Abhinay Deo is clear about what he wants in the film and visualises it accordingly. Technically he is fantastic,” she says.
Her next, Noor is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me! and follows Pakistani journalist-writer Noor’s misadventures and love life as she navigates her way through Mumbai. But Sonakshi is unfazed about facing any flak for playing a Pakistani character. “It’s just the backdrop of the story. The film is the story of a girl discovering herself. The character has a lot of shades and the film is based in Mumbai.”
About the film’s director Sunhil Sippy, with whom Sonakshi did her first ad film, the actress says, “I have been born and brought up in Mumbai, but have never seen the city in the light in which Sunhil has projected in his debut venture.”
Besides, the actress is also looking forward to the remake of Ittefaq, which starred Rajesh Khanna and Nanda. She, however, confesses that she has not watched the original. “Karan Johar told me not to watch it. For me, it’s an entirely new film, set in today’s day and age,” she says.
The 29-year-old says at the moment she is enjoying the process of each film that she takes up. “Akira may not have been a great box office success, but I got a lot more than I asked for from the film. In terms of appreciation and the hard work being noticed, there was a good response that I could carry a film on my shoulders, and that is what an actor works for. I don’t analyse my films. You put your efforts in the next film and move on. Lootera was one of my best but lowest earning film. I am happy from what I got. I got to work with a great director and my work was appreciated,” she says.
The actress has learnt to balance both success and failures. “When my films did well, I did not scream from the rooftops nor did I mope and cry when they failed. I have been told that success has ruined a lot of people more than failure. For me participating and enjoying the process are more important.”
Like her roles, Sonakshi is also fighting fit these days. But insists that she has not succumbed to the pressure of the glamorous world. “It’s a visual medium and you have to look good. Fortunately, the characters and roles I have played have accepted the way I have looked in the past. But my weight loss has happened organically. I have never let it weigh on my mind. It happened at a time when I wanted it to happen. When I had time to work on myself. Now that I have shed all the weight, I am feeling sprightly and I can get a lot more done,” she says.
Sonakshi says she never wanted to be an actor and had made it clear to her parents, till Dabangg happened. “I would run away when anybody asked me if I wanted to do films. But Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan never gave me a choice to say no. Since I never went to an acting school, so it was like being thrown into a pool and learning to swim.”