Kiara Advani: I hope every film I do allows me to launch myself!

Kiara Advani  made a promising start with Kabir Sadanand in Fugly in 2014.After a two-year gap she returns to play M S Dhoni’s wife in the bio-pic by Neeeraj Pandey. Kiara tells Subhash K Jha why it took her so long to do her post-debut film.

It’s been a while since we saw you make your debut in Fugly. What kept you away from the arclights ?

Post the release of Fugly I chose not to sign just anything that was coming my way. I decided to be patient and wait for the right opportunity. I’d say the wait was worth it !

Dhoni The Untold Story is a very important film on a man who is a living icon.

How did you bag the role?

A meeting with Neeraj sir (director Neeraj Pandey)and a screen test with Sushant Singh Rajput made me bag the role of Sakshi Dhoni

Have you attempted to proximate Dhoni’s wife’s physical looks? Or have you just played her in your own way.

I believe correct casting is half the battle won,especially in a biopic! Fortunately my personaly give off a similar vibe to Sakshi Dhoni’s, so I did not need to try hard! As for physical similarities we have kept her look as authentic as possible, simple with just kohl in the eyes!

Did you meet the real Mrs Dhoni?

I had the pleasure of meeting her once at a party, after the many telephone conversations we had had, she’s grounded and extremely approachable with no heirs of being a star wife!

What did you think of Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri playing the two wives of Mohd Azharuddin in Azhar?

I have not had the chance to watch the film

Kiara, this industry only kowtows to success. Was it difficult for you to move ahead after Fugly failed?

Initially it was difficult to accept it, but what kept me going was the belief that other people like my manager Reshma Shetty had in me to tell me that I should wait and be confident of my talent in the long run the only thing that stays with you is your talent and no one can take that away from you!

Tell me about the experience of working with Sushant Singh Raj Rajput. Did he help you with your scenes. Was it a very interactive experience?

I had a wonderful experience while working with Sushant, he is a very confident actor, I have witnessed him get into the skin of Dhoni and give it his best! As a costar he’s very easy to work with, we could both feed of each others energy in a scene. I remember before my first day of shoot he shared his research material with me, he had voice recordings of Sakshi narrating her journey with MS Dhoni and that really helped me understand my character better!

Are you looking at this film as your re-launch into Bollywood ?

I hope every film I do allows me to launch myself in a new way and show the audience a different side of me!

Do you have any other projects on hand?

My next film is titled Machine directed by Abbas-Mustans Sir! It’s a film I’m super excited to show the audience.We have shot a 60 day schedule in Georgia and have a very short schedule left to complete in Mumbai!

Finally, after three years in the entertainment industry what are the lessons you’ve learnt about surviving with dignity?

To do your work with honesty and the rest will fall into place! I won’t give anything less than my 100 percent in whatever I do!