‘The number you are trying to reach is currently out of reach,’ the automated message kept repeating. After about 20 minutes, Nushrat Bharucha answered and apologised for the wait. “Please bear with me if I stray away from the conversation because I am packing for a shoot,” she said politely. “And tell me to come back to the point or the thing you want to know.”
Boys might not expect such courtesy from Sweety, the bride-to-be that Nushrat plays in her latest film, but off screen she comes across as a girl with accommodating nature. Agrees Nushrat, “I like to live in reality, and be very practical about life and the things I do.” But in the same vein, she underlines her focus. Love, Sex aur Dhokha was the film with which she was noticed. “It was a cumulative success. I felt great, however, the spotlight was not on me. I made a promise to myself that I will ensure that one day, it is just on me.”
She continued, “There are people who have shown her dreams and there are people who have made them come alive.” Director Luv Ranjan is one of them. Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is her fourth film with him. “My struggle has not been easy. I was a ‘no-one’; and I am someone now. I will choose Luv and and his team again and again as they have always believed in me.”
Talking about her latest role, she reflected, “Sweety does not do things just because they have the ‘it’ factor or are ‘in’. If she wants to do a ‘jagraata’(pernoctation), she will, ignoring what anybody else thinks or says about it. Also, she does not really care about what her fiancé’s best friend thinks of her. After all, the fiancé has to live with me, as in Sweety, and not his best friend!”
Choosing her roles with greater care, Nushrat said acting was her true love. “I want to keep acting no matter what. Even when I become old and fat, I want to act. I will play the role of somebody’s mother, maybe,” chuckles the actor.
Luv’s films present the male perspective of love and romance. Nushrat felt people used the word too often and too lightly. “Many times behavioural traits which have nothing to do with the emotion are also dragged under it.” When it comes to gender, Nushrat didn’t want to take sides. “I am an advocate for not just women, but also men...whoever is right. The companionship should be strong enough to go through every thick and thin.”
Her advice for millions who aspire to make a name in glamour industry is “never give up on your dream, but also remember that it will not be easy. It is not about what one loves, it is about what pain one is ready to take for it.” Like marketing has 4 Ps, Nushrat’s acting class has 3. “Persistence. Keep at it. Do not let any naysayer or any difficulty stop you. Peace. Always be at peace with your inner self.” She forgot what the third P was, because it had been a very hectic day for her. “I have written it down somewhere, but I hate the fact that I can not recall it right now.” Well, that’s Sweety, perhaps !