Anushka Sharma completes five years in Bollywood this month.
She chats about turning producer, her views on the industry and a certain Mr Kohli.
Your neighbours have been keeping a tab on who’s been visiting you lately (on reports that cricketer Virat Kohli has been spotted in her building)
My neighbours need to find something better to do. They should have another pastime.
But are you and Virat dating?
No, I am not dating him. I am friends with him. I think he is very well brought-up. Yes, when he is in Bombay, he does come and see me, which I think is pretty normal. If you are friends, you will see each other. But there’s no relationship.
On TV show Koffee with Karan, actor Arjun Kapoor said he and you would have “nice, interesting” chemistry if he married you...
Marry me? What the hell? Why would he want to marry me? He should want to date me or something. Damn it. (laughs) I was just joking. Arjun is a very dear friend and I really like him as a person. We can talk a lot. People think I am talkative, but he does most of the talking.
After just five years in the industry, you are turning producer (with NH10). Did people dissuade you?
Oh yes, they did. Some trade experts... I don’t even know who they are... but I got these random messages that ‘why are you getting into this?’, ‘Just continue acting'. It was an instinctive decision, and the fact that I have taken this decision, and I don’t feel scared, has made me more confident about my project, and more sure about what I am doing.
Many female actors feel that the industry is male dominated and they don’t get paid as much. What do you think?
Well, the pay cheques are a fact. Actresses don’t get paid the same kind of money. But it’s a society thing. You can’t blame Bollywood for it. A lot of people perceive women in films as a glamorous addition. What happens in that case is that everyone (every actress) is interchangeable. That is the saddest thing. But there are films made with girls that work, and that’s a good sign. I feel both things are happening. There are glamorous roles and there are these so-called female oriented films. Maybe if we stop calling them female oriented films, it’ll be a huge change. It’s like they suddenly start treating us like a minority. Do we ever call a film ‘male-oriented’?
Many female actors feel that the industry is male dominated and they don’t get paid as much. What do you think?
Well, the pay cheques are a fact. Actresses don’t get paid the same kind of money. But it’s a society thing. You can’t blame Bollywood for it. A lot of people perceive women in films as a glamorous addition. What happens in that case is that everyone (every actress) is interchangeable. That is the saddest thing. But there are films made with girls that work, and that’s a good sign. I feel both things are happening. There are glamorous roles and there are these so-called female oriented films. Maybe if we stop calling them female oriented films, it’ll be a huge change. It’s like they suddenly start treating us like a minority. Do we ever call a film ‘male-oriented’?