Sonakshi Sinha: Choosing ‘woman-centric’ parts wasn’t a result of any pressure on me

Sonakshi Sinha made her Bollywood debut with blockbuster ‘Dabangg’ alongside Salman Khan. Since then, she has indulged in a number of wholesome commercial films including ‘Dabangg 2’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Son of Sardar’, ‘Bullett Raja’ and more.

However, with the latest trend of women-centric film taking over the Indian film industry, Sonakshi has made a conscious choice of opting for meatier roles. After ‘Akira’ that had her doing high-octane action sequences, she now gears up to play a journalist in her upcoming film ‘Noor’.

“Work of many years has led me to have faith that I can pull this (film) off by myself. At one point, I was comfortable doing the films that were working (commercially). In the past few years, there has been a marked change in the kind of films being made. I merely adapted to my surroundings. Those were the kind of stories I wanted to try, but couldn’t in the past. This is my time,” Sonakshi told Mid-day. (Also Read: Sonakshi Sinha has an advice for women subjected to sexual harassment at workplace)

“I am consciously choosing characters that don’t need me to look like an arm candy anymore. I loved the masala movies I have done in the past. I love the absurdity of it all. But now, I would try and do both ‘Lootera’ and ‘R… Rajkummar’. Even if I’d received flak for it, I never let that get to me. I took it positively and tried to understand what is expected of me. Choosing ‘woman-centric’ parts wasn’t a result of any pressure on me to deliver ‘different’ content. I won’t do something just because I want to follow in the footsteps of my colleagues. I am doing what my heart wants,” she added.

‘Noor’ is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel ‘Karachi, You’re Killing Me!’. Although the trailer had its share of humour, it also hints that the story has an emotionally intense portion as well.

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, ‘Noor’ releases on 21st April.

Ranjini Maitra

Journalist. Writer. Reader. Enthu cutlet. Mood-swing machine. Day dreamer. Sandwiched between ‘live life fully’ and ‘lose some weight’. Mantra of life: Love and love more.