When Sonakshi Sinha was told to not do Lootera: ‘I was discouraged from doing that film’

Sonakshi Sinha once talked about people warning her against 'arty film' Lootera while she was appearing in commercial movies. She said she was discouraged.

Sonakshi Sinha once talked about why she took up the unconventional role in her film Lootera after starring in commercial hits like Dabangg and Rowdy Rathore. She said she never picked a role to prove her point. However, she said she was warned about doing an ‘arty film’ as many thought she needed to be more ‘mature’ for such a genre.

Sonakshi Sinha as Pakhi Roy Chaudhary in Lootera.

Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Lootera is loosely based on author O. Henry's The Last Leaf. It starred Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh. While the film underperformed at the box office, it received high critical acclaim, especially for Sonakshi and Ranveer's performances.

Sonakshi Sinha on picking unconventional roles

During an interview with Filmfare in 2017, Sonakshi was asked the reason behind picking unconventional roles. She said, “I don’t believe I’m all that pretty. And I’ve never done a role to prove a point. I did Lootera because it came during the time I was doing masala films. It offered a refreshing change. The script was beautiful. My role was that of a TB patient. But I never consciously scouted for such a role. It just happened.”

“Everybody around me told me don’t do the ‘arty’ film. They told me the time was not right. That I needed to be way mature to portray that role. I was discouraged from doing that film. But I felt so strongly about the character that I went ahead and did it. And I’m glad that it was appreciated,” the actor added.

Success of Lootera despite being a flop

Lootera fetched Sonakshi a nomination for Best Actress at an award event. Besides Sonakshi's performance, the film is considered as a breakthrough in Ranveer Singh's career. The film was also highly praised for its songs, including Monali Thakur's Sawaar Loon.

Sonakshi's upcoming projects

Sonakshi turned a year older on Friday. She is currently flying high on the success of the Prime Video series, Dahaad. She will be next seen in Kakuda, Nikita Roy and The Book of Darkness, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. She also has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period web series Heeramandi in the pipeline.