Charu Shankar
is currently basking in the super success of her latest film, 'Animal'. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the actress spoke about the changing landscape of Bollywood. She also reminisced about the times she spent with the late
Irrfan Khan
on the sets of '
Hindi Medium
' and the lessons she learned from him. Excerpts...
Having worked in various successful projects, how do you see the evolving landscape of Bollywood, particularly concerning the types of stories being told?
Bollywood films will always have its special place in people’s hearts, but web shows are also a big part of our future.
Which is very good news for actors like me.
In an industry that's evolving, what are your thoughts on the increasing prominence of web shows and the shift in audience preferences?
One of the unintended gifts of COVID was that now we have an audience with an appetite for long-format episodic stories. Earlier, the audiences would come to escape their lives for three hours in a movie hall. But thanks to the lockdown, people were trying to escape full days of their lives by immersing themselves in a web show. Now, it's over to us to keep it coming.
Having worked with actors like Jim Sarbh and Irrfan Khan, what have been some memorable moments from your collaborations with such talented co-stars?
I worked with
Irfan Khan
in a movie called 'Hindi Medium,' and in the film, he comes on the stage and delivers a three-page beautifully moving speech, and every time we shot that, he had this huge tear which he was holding in his left eye. I mean, like that tear did not even go down his cheek; he was not crying; it was just there, and we could all see it. I guess what I learned from Irfan bhai was consistency in your craft. Whatever you do, you should be able to do it again and again with the same intensity.
Amid 'Animal's success, Ranbir Kapoor calls himself a 'simple man' who does not like anything 'animalistic'
Jim is very easygoing, so much fun to be around on set. Something I can learn from him for sure. I myself am quite the bookworm on set, always stuck to my book in the breaks. What to do; it’s the only time I get to read nowadays.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or roles that you are particularly excited about?
My film, 'Binni and Family,' directed by Sanjay Tripathi Ji, which stars
Pankaj Kapoor
Ji and which is the debut film of Anjani Dhawan, should be releasing soon. And I am also working on a show produced by Ashi Dua and directed by
Nitya Mehra
and
Karan Kapadia
. So, yeah, exciting times ahead!
English (US) ·