In A Freewheeling Interview With Subhash K Jha, Sara Reveals Her Plans To Conquer The Boxoffice.

Sara Ali Khan has made a  grand  impact with her debut film Kedaranth. And now  her  second release  Simmba is also  a hit.Not only has she won the  hearts of moviegoers she also has fan clubs all across India doting on  her from even before her debut film released.

Congrats Sara,  you seem to have  become  quite a star?

Arrey  kahan?! I am just running around trying to cope with  the  workload . I don’t have time to feel like a star.I don’t think I’m a star yet. But  I hope I get there some day. I don’t think I will ever let myself feel like  star. The minute you do, others  will  stop seeing you in a favourable light.

Your gorgeous grandmother Sharmila Tagore says you’ve immense poise  for someone so  young. Where  does this selfconfidence come  from?

I guess it comes  from being honest. And that’s the  only way I can be. Let those who can lie convincingly do it. I can’t! I start  fumbling the  minute I lie.Staying  true to myself suits me  just  fine.

 What kind of reactions are  you getting from family and the media?

The family cannot be expected to be objective.They are expected to be  nice to me in  whatever I do. After all I am their daughter. But the way  the reviewers critics  and audience have reacted  to me is overwhelming. This  is  a moment I am  not going  to forget ever in my life.

Do  you  deserve all the  love you are getting?

80 percent  of it , I deserve. The  other 20 percent  I don’t know where  it is coming from.And  it’s  making me feel very  grateful and emotional. I don’t have any experience in acting.All I had  was my honesty.And that was my only go-to. Kedarnath  was my first  experience   in what happens before the camera, Of course  I had been on  film sets before to see my mother(Amrita Singh) shoot in Kalyug and my father (Saif Ali Khan) in Omkara. But all I  did was  play around with  my parents’ co-stars’ makeup . Kedarnath was  my first  opportunity to  observe  filmmaking and be part  of  the process. My only tool of working  on the sets was my honesty.Of course  I  always wanted  to be an actor.

Posing as a child in front of  the  mirror? Wearing  your mother’s clothes?

All of that , all of that.

In that case why did you  go to Colombia University?

To me education  was  not a means to get a job. It was my way of widening my horizons. I didn’t think  I  was  going to be practising lawyer  after attending Colombia. Education has made me a confident  person. It doesn’t only teach  you history and  geography. Education gives you  insight into life.It gave me a heightened awareness  of  life that  helped   me  become  a  better actor.

You  were raised mostly by your mother. Not having your father around, was that  a lacuna you felt?

I was more than okay with that arrangement. I think having two  happy parents in different  homes is much more preferable than  two unhappy parents  in  the same  home. I think  I am the way  that I am because  my mother didn’t let me feel any kind deprivation  for even a second. I have a  very hands-on  mother. Once  my  brother and I were born  she did  nothing  but look  after us.

So she never  allowed you to miss the  presence of your father?

My father was always a phonecall away  for  both of us. I’ve never felt he was  not there for me. In many ways I am glad my parents were  not together. I know they’d have never been happy together.And if  they were not happy I’d not have been happy.

Now Saif gives so  much attention to  Taimur which  you never got.Do you feel a pang of  envy?

Not at all. He’s  my  brother.  I will tell you  something. When my father was living with us, he was completely taken  up by me. When he  moved away he was still as  caring.There’s nothing he  wouldn’t do for me. Even  when he doesn’t live with us , the  thought that he’d do anything for  me makes me feel  very special. My father may  not be there for me the way he is for Taimur. But that doesn’t make me feel  any  less special.

Do you  look forward  to working with  him?

God willing, we will work together soon. But for obvious reasons it’s not something that would happen over and over again. But if we get a  script that justifies  our presence  we will do it without a moment’s thought.

Whom do you consult on your scripts, Mom or Dad?

Both of them. But at  the  end of the day they  both encourage   me to  follow my heart.So  if I am convinced  about a script I’d do it regardless of their advice. But if I am not convinced I wouldn’t do it.

What did your  brother Ebrahim  think  of Kedarnath and Simmba and  you?

 He’s studying abroad and he’s  the  only member of  the family who hasn’t seen  my films.

Does he aspire to be an actor?

He  does. But as I’ve discovered, it’s an easy dream to have  but a very difficult  dream to achieve. But I feel Ebrahim has  the talent. Once he enacted  a monologue for my mother and I .I was holding the sheet of paper on which  his lines were written. I  couldn’t look at  the sheet , I was busy looking at his eyes. They were so  emotive.

How do you  field  the improper  questions from the media?

 I am never  asked anything improper. To be  honest, mujhse kya improper  pooch sakte hain? What have I done? I have literally been around for  just a few months.

Are you looking forward  to taking all the  debutante awards?

(giggles nervously) I don’t think I’m going to win them. One never  knows.

Sadly  they keep pitching  you against Janhvi Kapoor?

Such comparisons are inevitable. But it is  her job to do her own thing, and mine to do my  own thing. And it’s some people’s job to compare us. We ‘ve to  respect  everyone’s job. She is  busy with her work. I am  busy with my work.

The catty competitiveness  that existed  during your grandmother and your mother’s times  no longer  exists?

I don’t think we  can afford that kind of open rivalry.The media is  too active.Anything  we do  will be reported the  next day.