Saindhav: Ruhani Sharma addresses her less screen time than Shraddha Srinath and Andrea Jeremiah

Ruhani opens up to Hindustan Times about her role in Saindhav, why she veers from the norm while picking her roles, working with Venkatesh and more.

Ruhani Sharma is excitedly bright-eyed when Hindustan Times catches up with her for an exclusive chat. “I have such high hopes for this year,” she thrills, adding, “I just hope that all the projects I’ve said yes to do well.” After all, the actor will kick-start the year with a bang in Sailesh Kolanu’s Saindhav, which releases on January 13 for Sankranthi. “I also have Operation Valentine with Shakti Pratap Singh, Sri Ranga Neethulu in Telugu with Praveen Kumar, apart from Devang Bhavsar’s Blackout and Kanu Behl’s Agra in Hindi lined up this year,” she lists. But first, she opens up about everything from her role in Saindhav to her plans for the festival. Excerpts.

Ruhani Sharma says she doesn't want to play run-of-the-mill roles (Instagram)

‘I loved playing Dr Renu’

Ruhani already worked with Sailesh Kolanu in his debut film, HIT: The First Case in 2020. So when he narrated the script of Saindhav, it was a no-brainer for her to say yes. “I’ve seen Sailesh grow not just as a director, but as a person since then. He’s much calmer now,” she tells us, adding, “When he told me this heart-touching tale of a father who will go to any extent for his sick child, I wanted to be on board.”

I play Dr Renu, someone who’s fighting for a very good cause. She’s so key to the film, that I knew I wanted to play her.

Ruhani says that she liked her role best out of the three female characters the film has, with the other two played by Shraddha Srinath and Andrea Jeremiah. “To be honest, Renu doesn’t have the kind of screen time the other lead actors do in the film, but I connected to her so much, that I felt it didn’t matter. I wanted to be a part of this meaningful narrative,” she adds.

Ruhani Sharma in a still from Saindhav

‘Venky sir is a great performer’

Ruhani also gets candid, saying that she also said yes to the project to work with Venkatesh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. “Shooting for this film was such an incredible experience. The whole cast is so grounded and true to their craft. I’ve done emotional scenes before but I’ve never really experienced what I did on the sets of Saindhav,” she says.

There’s a shot where you can only see my back and Venky sir and Shraddha are facing the camera. They were both so good, that I would well up every time we gave the shot.

Ruhani says Venkatesh is “a legend,” someone she learned a lot from. “He’s a revelation in both the emotional and action scenes, Saindhav will be a treat for his fans. Off-screen, he’s so kind and grounded, there’s no air of stardom. I’ve never seen that, this was a set where all actors were treated equally,” she says. “As for Nawaz, I’ve seen the rough cuts of his scenes and it’s pure madness how he can act. You will not have seen him in this avatar for a while now,” she adds.

Venkatesh and Shraddha Srinath in a still from Saindhav

‘I won’t do run-of-the-mill roles’

Unlike most of her counterparts, Ruhani has done roles far from the damsel-in-distresses we often see. All of seven films old, she has played a relatable woman reeling under expectations in her debut film Chi La Sow, a psychiatrist in HIT, a wife harbouring a secret in Dirty Hari and a cop in Her. Ask her how she picks roles and she beams, “It makes me happy that when I look back at my career, all I see is good work.”

I am not averse to commercial cinema but I wish directors and writers would put in effort to give some good scenes to the female leads. Otherwise, you’re just in the film to dance, but I want to do more.

Ruhani reiterates that she only wants work where her character contributes to the film. “I am only looking to play parts that have importance and give me scope to perform,” she says, adding, “I mean no disrespect to anyone but you can’t pour life into a character that isn’t written well. I am fortunate to have good work come my way. I don’t know how successful it’ll make me but I know it’ll make me happy.”

Ruhani Sharma is excited for Sankranthi (Instagram)

Sankranthi files

“Every Sankranthi the whole family gathers at my naani’s (grandmother) place,” Ruhani tells us, adding, “We catch up, sit together and make these delicious til ke ladoo with jaggery (sesame sweet). We also light a bonfire on Bhogi, do pooja and just gorge on delicious food. It’s the perfect way to spend time together.”

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