When the title of the film is DreamGirl, one would expect a beautiful actress like Nushrat Bharucha to play the title role. But Ayushmann Khurrana is the Dream Girl and Nushrat is neither shocked nor sad about it. “I have played the vamp in Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, so I am not at all shocked or sad that I am not playing the dream girl in the film,” the actress says while promoting it.
The actress says that it’s the story and content that got her interested in DreamGirl. “It’s an extremely funny film. In fact, I was laughing all through the narration. It was a no brainer kind of decision to do the film even though it’s not me but Ayushmann who is the dream girl,” the actress says. She is happy that this kind of quirky concepts are being made and makers are approaching her for them.
Working with a talented actor like Ayushmann is a huge responsibility, she says. “Apki responsibility badh jati hai. I think, you are aware of the fact that you have to up your game when the writing and co-stars are so good. It’s not like you have to work extra but you become conscious about the fact that if you are not up to the mark, then the film will drop, which isn’t good for the project, specially a project like DreamGirl, which is a comedy of errors and has a certain pace and energy. Every one has lived their part in the film and that’s when your smartness as an actor comes in,” she points out.
DreamGirl, releasing on September 13, also stars Annu Kapoor, Manjot Singh and Vijay Raaz. Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, it’s produced by Aashish Singh, Shobha and Ekta Kapoor.
Nushrat believes that while playing certain characters, she has to take the middle ground, otherwise the character might end up looking like a caricature. “Take for example my character in Pyaar ka Punchnama. Everyone could see the girl nagging, being annoying and they missed her likable parts. Even in DreamGirl, I had to be take the middle path.”
How important is it for her to have a rapport with the director, specially while working with a first time director like Raaj? Nushrat replies, “Bahut zaruri hai. I sign a film based on two things — the narration and the director. It’s the director’s job to execute the story. If I can’t trust the director on whether they will be able to do that, then it’s a problem. I always chat with my director, understand their vision and see if we are on the same page or not. Then work becomes easy and interesting.”
The year 2019 has been pretty exciting for the actress. She has three very interesting projects —DreamGirl, Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt’s Hurdang and Hansal Mehta’s Turram Khan. Also, she will no longer be called Luv Ranjan’s heroine as she is working with different directors. Nushrat smiles and says, “It’s not only exciting but also very rewarding. Earlier I used to do one film in one or two years, but now I am doing three films in a year. The fact that I am getting to do such different films and diverse characters, right after Sonu Ke...., is very rewarding. I feel whatever I have done so far — good, bad, wrong — it has led me to this stage. I am thankful for it and happy that the journey turned out this way.”
Was it a lack of scripts or her working in certain genre of films that made her do one film a year? Nushrat says, “People knew me as being part of a certain kind of films. They didn’t know me or my personality. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t being offered the kind of films I wanted to do. So, I chose to do what my identity was at that time till I came to the point where I could do different roles,” she says, adding, “It took a little while. But it was a conscious choice to not do anything and everything that was being offered to me. I was happily waiting for the right project,” she says.
And what was the motivation while she waited for the right projects to come her way? “There was a voice within me which kept saying, ‘I would make it’ and I kept at it. I just kept working on whatever was being offered to me with full dedication,” she says.
Ask about Turram Khan and she says that it’s a social comedy, which has something substantial to say and needs to be heard. The project is even more interesting because she is yet again collaborating with her Love Sex Dhokha co-star Rajkummar Rao.
