00:00When they're icons, they're already high up there.
00:09Who are we to create any expectations out there?
00:12You just tell their story in a beautiful way.
00:14And why not?
00:17No, I think Bandish has a very refreshing take on, it's not, I wouldn't say it's just
00:26a love story.
00:27There's so much more to Bandish.
00:29There are so many layers, there are so many love stories going on at the same time.
00:34Some are about restraint, some are about unrequited love.
00:38I think the beauty of love is that it's unrequited love.
00:42And there are many more layers to it, like music, nurturing, learning from each other,
00:50companionship.
00:51There's so much more to it.
00:54I think we should discover more of these stories in the Indian film industry.
01:02Refuse?
01:03I don't refuse anything that is different or that's exciting.
01:12What I really love is the mature love stories.
01:16And what I really love is thrillers, what I really love is comedy.
01:20But I get emotional roles most of the time, but I also get these ones, so I really enjoy
01:25doing those.
01:31That's been a very, I think, deliberate attempt to not be put in a pigeonhole.
01:39I think everyone gets a job, but the kind of work you want to do, you have to make your
01:46own space for it.
01:47And I've fought this always.
01:49I think there's a herd mentality in the industry, there's a level of comfort, that if you see
01:54this in this, it's very good, give it to me in another film too.
01:58So I've always broken that, and I am glad I did it a few years earlier.
02:04Now it's become like a norm.
02:06Now in OTT, you'll see actresses, every actor is playing a different role.
02:12So a few years ago, it wasn't like that.
02:14You got an image, so you got it, it was difficult to break it.
02:19But I love doing it.
02:20After Veer Zara, I did Dilli 6, after Dilli 6, I started getting all the sensuous roles.
02:25Then I did Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, my sister, I was the most popular sister around.
02:31And then I did Badlapur, where I again became a heroine.
02:34So it was fun to break these stereotypes, that no, you can't tie an actor.
02:40An actor is an actor, he'll do comedy, he'll become a villain, he'll do romance too.
02:46You just have to let them be.
02:50I don't like that term at all, I don't like that term at all, I think actors are like that.
02:56You call a character a character, so a hero is also a character, a heroine is also a character.
03:03Which character is she playing?
03:05She's a villain, she's a comedian.
03:07Now it's layered roles, so now everyone thinks she has more character in it.
03:14So hence you call that.
03:16So hence you call that.
03:17Also, I think now people like to see realistic faces after coming to OTT.
03:25That if you're looking at a panchayat, it should look like a village.
03:28It shouldn't look like a boy from Mumbai has become a village boy.
03:33They want to see authenticity.
03:35And it started on OTT, and now people like it.
03:39So what has happened with that is that such characters have started becoming more and more.
03:44More acceptance has started there.
03:51I do fewer ones.
03:52I do things that I feel I'm going to really enjoy.
03:57I think OTT happens anywhere in everyone's house.
04:02So you should have that exclusivity and a different range.
04:09I think I try to do different stuff.
04:12If I did hostages, it was very different.
04:15Special Ops was very different.
04:16Bandish Bandits was very different.
04:18The one I'm doing now is completely different.
04:21So they're all very different genres.
04:24When such beautiful stories are being told in OTT,
04:27you should be a part of stories that show you differently.
04:31I go with my instinct.
04:33When you tell a story, I feel like I have to do it.
04:37I feel like I'm going to enjoy it, so I say yes.
04:39And of course, I know who my director is, what my role is.
04:44But when you hear a story from the director,
04:48you know if the director is going to tell a good story or not.
04:52Well, as an actor, I think there's not much difference
04:54because just that your screen time has increased
04:58instead of just one and a half, two hours,
05:01you're shooting about four hours' content.
05:03And that's about it, I think.
05:05Otherwise, it's shot the same way, it's presented the same way.
05:08Even your big screen films are on OTT.
05:11So the content is the same.
05:12But the story is different.
05:14I think that's the difference.
05:17Yes, of course. It's more or less the same.
05:36To see the, what do you say,
05:38enthusiasm of the audience has been brilliant.
05:46The fun of watching a film on a big screen is extremely beautiful.
05:58Yeah, I don't want to get into the politics of any film.
06:01We are telling a story creatively and saying that I don't want to get into its politics.
06:06Everything. It gives us the liberty to have every kind of audience.
06:16Whether it's Gen Z, old people, 90s people, everyone has a different audience.
06:25And you have all kinds of audiences who like to watch your kind of show.
06:29So I think it's a party time. We just need to tell good stories.
06:35There are so many people who come in between us.
06:38The star system comes, then something else comes.
06:41A freedom to say your story the way you want to say it is very important.
06:52Future Projects is coming with Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Shergill.
06:58There is a biopic with Neeraj Kavi.
07:01There is a web show and two English films.
07:09I would like to give a lot of love to everyone.
07:12And I would like to say that be happy, be healthy and always take care of your environment.
07:22This is not someone else's job, it's your job.
07:28www.futureprojects.org
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