I didn’t receive a single penny for ‘Love, Sex aur Dhokha’: Nushrat Bharucha

Nushrat Bharucha, the actress who flawlessly brought to life the character of a nagging girlfriend in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’ – and will probably be most known for that role of hers, dare I say – is a girl who is many light years away from that in real life. Nushrat, off screen, is a girl perhaps every guy would want in their life – though she states that she’s never been in a relationship in her life. As she gears up for her upcoming film, ‘Akaash Vani’, directed by Luv Ranjan, Ananya Bhattacharya of Zeenews.com caught up with the actress. From love being murdered in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’ to love being resurrected in ‘Akaash Vani’, Nushrat speaks candidly about all of that and a lot more. Excerpts from the conversation: You’ve worked in television earlier. And now films. Which one do you prefer? Ya… I’ve done television. But I prefer films, for sure. TV as a medium is very restrictive. Also for TV, the demand for quantity is a lot more. If it’s a daily soap, there are times when quality does get compromised – not always, but mostly, yes – because at the end of the day, we’re all humans. There’s always a deadline hovering over your head, and most of the work is done to meet that. This film, for example, we’ve spent a year and a half just preparing for it and we shot it for a year – and that too, for only eighty days – but that span was dispersed all over the year. I’ve lived Vani through this whole film. The journey and the process make it more fun for me… It seems I’m on my way to achieve something in life. A plain twelve hour shift wouldn’t be able to do that for me. In ‘Love, Sex aur Dhokha’, you played a girl at the receiving end of an honour killing. Anything you’d want to say about that role of yours… Before I worked for ‘LSD’, as a person in Mumbai, I wasn’t aware of honour killings rampant in other parts of the country. I was aware of the concept, I was aware of what exactly happened, and I always felt thankful about the fact that I lived in a metro and that my parents and family are not of that mindset. What I liked about ‘LSD’ was that I just did the film as it was. But the many articles and reports on honour killings that I’ve read after that, have all travelled from Page 8 to Page 2, if not the front page of newspapers. That journey from Page 8 to Page 2 is a huge thing for us – as a team of ‘LSD’ – that the issue was highlighted because of the film. It awakened me. The nagging Neha in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’. How far can you relate to that character? I’ve never been able to relate to Neha. Every girl has come to Kartik (Tiwari) and said that they totally understood him. I’m not trying to say that I’m a goody-two-shoes – of course, I too have my downsides but I have never had to tolerate a relationship – so I don’t know, personally, if I can actually turn a person’s life so miserable! How would you rate Kartik as a co-star? And in real life as well? On a scale of one to ten: because I’ve done films and have had other co-stars, but I’ve spent the longest time with him – so he deserves a ten! Off screen, maybe a twelve on ten – because in films, he might end up irritating me at times, but off screen he’s more fun and enjoyable! One director you want to work with? Nobody. I had a list when I started acting and Dibakar Banerjee was on that list. When I watched ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’, I said that I’d work for free with Dibakar – and that’s what actually happened. I didn’t get paid for that film – not a single penny – but that film was not about money. But in the last two years, after ‘LSD’ being a success, I thought that offers would automatically come to me and that people would notice me – but it doesn’t work that way. It’s not just about success. I’m not being prejudiced, but it’s much difficult for a girl than a guy. A guy’s first film works – people notice his ‘hero’ material. A girl’s – nobody does. After ‘LSD’, and even after ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, it’s still the same. ‘PKP’ still doesn’t push me as far as it can push other people. Somewhere, I’d prefer working with directors who would want to work with me rather than the other way. What exactly does the audience have to expect from ‘Akaash Vani’, and from Vani? From Vani, definitely somebody they’ll fall in love with – if not already! She represents every innocent love story that could ever have been. She also is the face of a commitment that you see through. She’s the all-ticks ‘perfect’ girl. You’ll definitely fall in love with Vani.