Ishita Dutta Sheth shares, 'People and industry stamped me as an actor after Drishyam'

Ishita Dutta Sheth shot to fame when she essayed Anju Salgaonkar in Drishyam (2015). The actress has reprised her role as Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran’s daughter seven years later in Drishyam 2. The Abhishek Pathak directorial venture, which released on November 18, also stars Tabu and Akshaye Khanna. The Free Press Journal caught up with Ishita for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:

How did you feel to revisit your character Anju in Drishyam 2?

I felt that it never went away from the real me since on every October 2nd, my friends used to remind me  about the pav bhaji and satsang. I would have forgotten it but people used to shower so much love diligently from October 2nd till 3rd. I am very happy to be a part of a film, which still has a great buzz even after seven years and with Drishyam 2, I am hoping it will continue for another seven years. 

What were your transitions while playing Anju after such a long gap?

The good part is that we are showing what is happening in the lives of Vijay and his family after seven years, so there’s an actual growth also since we as actors have grown up. If part 2 would have been made after a year after the first, probably we wouldn’t have emoted the way we did now. Physically, we all have grown up too.

Go on…

We also got to live that incident that happened on October 2nd-3rd all these years. Anju won’t talk the way she used to seven years back. The best part is that we shot in that same house, even the interiors are the same. It was like a major nostalgia for me. We all met together and recreated the bond we had. The first two days went in discussions. The organic progression helped in getting the maturity of Anju correct on screen.

Your character develops epilepsy in the second part. How did you prepare for that?

I was constantly discussing with my director Abhishek about it and figuring out how to do the scenes. I was shooting for a television show and I saw a person getting those fits. No matter how much we discussed it but to see it in person, I couldn’t explain the emotions. I took a lot of inspiration from that incident but that aspect of Anju was challenging for me. 

Do you believe that the Drishyam franchise is a game-changer in your career?

It has done a lot to my career. After the first part was released, people and industry stamped me as an actor. It gave me credibility and confidence. Every actor feels that maybe that one film will change things for them and Drishyam 2 is that film for me.