After her 2020 film 'Love Aaj Kal' didn't do well at the box office, actress Sara Ali Khan reveals that the following lockdown only made things difficult for her.
Actress Sara Ali Khan is excited about her upcoming film 'Atrangi Re'. Not just because she is being directed by acclaimed storyteller Aanand L Rai but also because this film comes after a point where she was caught in a rather anxious state of mind.
Khan's film 'Love Aaj Kal' released in February 2020, after her two hits 'Simmba' and 'Kedarnath'. However, the Imtiaz Ali directorial didn't perform as expected at the box office. Soon after India was locked down due to Covid 19 pandemic. By then she had already signed 'Atrangi Re' in which her character is that of a Bihari girl called Rinku.
Talking about how the lockdown played on her mind, the actress tells Outlook, "They (thoughts) were very disturbing because 'Love Aaj Kal' released and then I went into a lockdown. Luckily, I had shot a little with Aanand Ji and the only thing that kept me going was 'Atrangi Re'. I knew that when the lockdown will end, I will again go back on the sets with Aanand Ji. That's the only thing that motivated me. After 'Love Aaj Kal released', I had lost quite a lot of confidence because I was touted as the next big star after 'Simmba' and then I was suddenly brought down after 'Love Aaj Kal'."
The actress adds, "That's when Aanand ji said that 'Love Aaj Kal was flop for Sara but not for my Rinku. So, my Rinku can't suffer and you have to get it back together and you have got to kill it'."
The 26-year-old actress, grand-daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and daughter of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh.
Has she learnt to deal with setbacks and accomplishments from her parents?
"My father gave 17 flops before he gave his hit again and he really learnt from that. I have seen that in my own life in the past three years, the way I have been treated before 'Kedarnath', after 'Simmba', after 'Love Aaj Kal'... Of Course from the media and the audience it is expected but on a personal note it was different, the way I was treated at a dinner table was different and that's sad but it's true. So you learn to develop a thick skin," says the actress, who is made her Bollywood debut with 2018 film 'Kedarnath'.
Khan, who will share screen for the first time with actors Akshay Kumar and Dhanush in 'Atrangi Re', knows how to deal with any major or minor failures in life.
She says, "You have to deal with it." and quickly adds, "You can't let it bring you down but you can't ignore it and understand why it didn't work, embrace it, hope to do better next time and come in with the same excitement and enthusiasm, which you would have had, if the film worked and just go out there and kill it."