Shruti Haasan is visibly more comfortable in her skin than ever before. Having shed the girl-next-door image, she has started experimenting with complex and layered characters—a change that mirrors her life off the screen as well. Once a self-proclaimed people-pleaser, the actor-songwriter no longer strives to fit into people’s expectations of her and she admits that it has come at a price.
“Who I am today is the real me! Those who choose to love me and know me, will make the effort. I have lost a few friends by choosing authenticity. It has not been an easy choice, but it has been incredibly rewarding. Today, I am the same with everyone. Some value that, others find it to be weird. That’s fine! This is just how I feel comfortable now,” the Ramaiya Vastavaiya actor says.
Over the years, Haasan has grown to connect with darker themes in her films and characters. Her role of Adya Jaisingh aka Meetu in her latest gig Bestseller, a web series on Amazon Prime Video, also has shades of grey. She is a woman trying to make it big amidst the everyday hustle. It was Adya’s story—her flaws and struggles that drew Hassan to the character.
According to the 36-year-old actor, every woman has a ‘different brand of resilience’. “Every woman is hustling, be it a housewife, a corporate employee, an actor or a journalist. There is a hustle associated with their life,” she says, adding that she found it easy to relate to Adya’s journey. She explains, “As women, we do not have to get along with each other, but we have to respect each other’s journeys. I respected Adya’s.”
In fact, she admittedly engages quite deeply with her complex characters, making it difficult for her to slip into a light-hearted role, while flitting between projects. “I guess that’s because I am drawn to intensity as a person. I am drawn to the extremes of emotion. Lighthearted roles are harder than they seem,” she says.
Hassan, who made her Bollywood debut in 2009 with the crime thriller Luck alongside Imran Khan and Sanjay Dutt, thinks that acting in a web series like Bestseller has also helped her become a better songwriter.
“I am blessed to live this parallel life as an actor. It is about stories and emotions. That is what my music is about. What my music has gained from my acting career is the ability to tell the story better and the ability to perform it on stage,” she says.