Anushka Sharma on playing Rosie and being compared to Rekha in ‘Bombay Velvet’

Anushka said: “I am very excited because I always wanted to do the kind of work that I am doing right now.”

After starring in the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, ‘PK’ and more recently turning producer with her last release, ‘NH10′, Anushka Sharma is at the absolute peak of her career. And no, it doesn’t end there, the actress will soon be seen onscreen as the beautiful and talented jazz singer, Rosie in Anurag Kashpay’s forthcoming crime drama, ‘Bombay Velvet’. It will then be followed by Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ that has Anushka sharing screen space with a stellar cast including Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah and Farhan Akhtar.

“I am very excited because I always wanted to do the kind of work that I am doing right now. You want to do different roles and work with different directors and when you work with a range of directors, you get a distinct performance and distinct films to your credit. So, I’m very happy that this is the phase that I’m going through in my career. And I’m getting to work with talented actors like Ranbir Kapoor who add so much value to me, my films and my performances,” said Anushka Sharma at a recent ‘Bombay Velvet’ promotional event.

On being asked if she is similar to her character, Rosie from the film, she says, “The way I am as a person is drastically different, so much so that I would judge the way that she would react in situations because my reaction would be very upfront and she is not confrontational and expressive as a person. And that’s something I could never relate to as a result I could never rely on my natural instincts to play the character.”

Anushka also spoke about Neeti Mohan who has lent her voice to most of the film’s songs. “I had to make people believe that I was singing those songs, because Neeti Mohan has done such a fab job with the music, and sometimes that is a problem also because she’s so good.”

A certain scene from the ‘Bombay Velvet’ trailer has quite a few comparing the actress to veteran beauty, Rekha from ‘Parineeta’. “That’s a huge compliment. I think Rekha is definitely a huge icon and beautiful woman, who has inspired so many people. My mother is a big fan of hers and tells me at every award show that she wants to meet her. And that’s something I think I should make happen,” says a smiling Anushka.

Anushka Sharma also let us in on a secret from the sets, that co-star Ranbir had acting tips for everybody in the film, especially Anushka and Karan Johar, who plays the antagonist. “Ranbir was the ghost director for Karan and me, always giving us his pearls of wisdom. But, I think Ranbir will make a great director because of the way he understands the subtle things about people. He’ll be very good with films that revolve around relationships and he has got the temperament to be a good director,” said Anushka.

Anushka was all praise for director Anurag Kashyap, “Anurag is very easy to work with. He instills so much confidence in you that he makes you feel that you are so good and over capable of what he offered you to do. You start thinking ‘Im it’, even thought you might not be. He always pushes the people that he works with, but he pushes them with love and with support. He gives you a lot of freedom also, he never over directs or over instructs, he just kind of lets you be and get your own process out.”

Since the film is set in ‘Bombay’ of the 60s, Anushka Sharma shared what this city means to her, “I’m not from here, I came here to work. This is the place I find people to be the most professional and there is this whole atmosphere of people trying to achieve something, to become better than what they are and to rise above what circumstances have offered them. I have come to respect that immensely.”

Bombay Velvet, which is a large screen adaptation of Gyan Prakash’s ‘Mumbai Fables’, will release on May 15.

Source:: Indian Express