Parineeti Chopra is a powerhouse of energy. Despite a runny nose and dust allergy, she was at her candid best and didn’t let her energy come down even for a moment during the promotion of her recent release Namaste England in the Capital. The actor, who is shooting for her upcoming films Kesari and Jabariya Jodi simultaneously, is also geared up for her next, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, releasing in March 2019. In a freewheeling chat, Parineeti, who turns 30 today, tells us about her energy secret, and waiting out the bad times. Excerpts:

Your cousin actor Priyanka Chopra is soon to get married to singer Nick Jonas. Have wedding prep started, already?

Yeah, totally! I mean mentally we are all prepared. Obviously, the physical preparation will happen [soon]. But, I’m very excited is all I can say. I’m genuinely looking forward to their wedding because I really feel they found the right person for each other, which is half the battle won. As actors, to find a real person who believes in and understands you, that’s half the problem, and, she [Priyanka] has found that. So, I am going to be the first person at the gate dancing.

How do you manage to stay so pumped up all the time?

I feed off the energy of whoever I am with. So, it’s Arjun [Kapoor; her Namaste England co-star], right now. And when people love you so much, there is no day off. Also, I’m not someone who wants to sit out there a day after the release of my film and think, ‘Shayad mene kuch kam kiya’.

Does juggling multiple films simultaneously get tiring?

Yeah! Acting is honestly a very emotionally draining profession. You are constantly fighting your actual emotion inside or the stresses in your life. There’s a reason we’ve to have our phones all the time because we are doing 100 things at one time, but there’s nothing more important than our films.

You often go for solo trips in between work. Is that your mantra to start afresh?

One hundred per cent! For me, there is no other way. Actually, before I took that first break, I worked for 400 days straight without a break — no birthday, no New Year, no Diwali, no holiday, literally. And I collapsed at the end of it. It was during a shot, I fainted. And that was the day I decided that I’m not built to be this person. I may not have been at my fittest best also. But now, I’ve realised that travel actually is my biggest passion. I need to be out of the city and country, every month or two for at least three-four days for me to comeback recharged, otherwise I don’t know what I am working for. I don’t have any kids or husband to take care of right now, so I like to pamper myself with good holidays and I’ll do that. My managers hate my for this, but my days are my days.

Golmaal Again released exactly a year before Namaste England. Are you staying away from signing too many films?

Actually, I did go on a signing spree. I signed four films together and they’ll all release next year. They’re all different and I hope that the audiences accept those also. Also, Dibakar’s [Banerjee] film got pushed to next year otherwise I would have had two releases this year, too.

You’ve had a successful debut (Ishaqzaade, 2012) followed by hits and misses, and a 200-crore film. Does it create any pressure?

I started my career and had four hits followed by three films that didn’t do well and then Golmaal made 230 crores. So, I feel life has a weird way of balancing itself out. When I started out, I didn’t even know what failure was till I saw my first loss in Daawat-e-Ishq (2014) and everything felt so negative. But, everybody used to say ‘Don’t worry, the tide turns for every actor’. And Golmaal came and made enough money for four of my films (laughs). So, you have to be patient. Bad times are going to be tough but you have to wait for good times.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal

First Published: Oct 22, 2018 14:22 IST