Sanya Malhotra: I wasn’t expecting such a great response from the industry or the audience after Dangal

After a blockbuster debut with the 2016 film Dangal, actor Sanya Malhotra didn’t go on a film signing spree and took her time to sign her next project. And now, she has not one but three films, two of which are releasing soon, while she is still shooting for the third.

Asked if she is happy with the way things shaped up after her first film, Sanya says life has been quite wonderful post Dangal. “I wasn’t expecting this [great] response from the industry or the audience. Soon after Dangal’s stupendous success, I was flooded with a lot of offers but not all [of them] materialised. But since two years, I have been shooting each day, for three different films. They are all versatile projects and I’m grateful to be part of each one of them,” shares the actor.

Sanya lineup includes a quirky comedy Badhaai Ho with Ayushmann Khurrana, a Mumbai saga titled Photograph where she plays Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s muse and a comedy drama, Pataakha, featuring life journeys of two sisters alongside Radhika Madan. “All these films have distinctive content,” she says, before adding that it does get tough at times to switch between characters, in a short span of time.

“It definitely does take some time to get accustomed to the character you’re portraying and takes an equal amount of time to get out of it. I did get quite some time post Dangal to get out of Babita’s (wrestler Babita Phogat) character, but it was a little difficult to get out of my character in Photograph. I enjoy being in my character’s world. The character that I’m playing right now in Vishal Bhardwaj’s film [Pataakha] is very different from the real me. So, it took me a little time to understand and get in its shoes. I’d have to literally pull myself out of my comfort zone and be her, which is so much fun and works well for me as I’m learning for my future endeavours,” she elaborates.

Sanya feels “honoured” that she is getting a chance to collaborate with celebrated film-makers such as Vishal Bharadwaj, Ritesh Batra and Amit Sharma, all known for their unique film-making sensibilities. “I still can’t believe that I’m working with such amazing and experienced people. I’m learning each day and enjoying everything about being an actor. My perception and my way of working change with each film,” she beams.

Even her co-stars are known for their unconventional choice of films. On this, she says, “Both Ayushmann and Nawazuddin have their own unique ways of working but at the same time, the films that I’m doing with them are very different. It was indeed very inspiring experience to work with them. They’re extremely professional and one can see how passionate they are towards the craft.”

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First Published: Aug 07, 2018 17:05 IST