In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, actor Sanjeeda Sheikh, who is currently garnering praises for her significant role in the recent film Fighter alongside Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, shares her journey and her experience about working on the project. Excerpts:
Do you believe that Fighter is your biggest project so far?
Yes, it is by far my biggest project and I haven’t done much films but just to be a part of something so magnificent and something good and big was a great opportunity for me and I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of such a big film.
Your silent love camaraderie with HR in the film is amazing, your thoughts on it?
The beauty of Patty and Sachi’s relationship was that everything unsaid but still understood and that is something which was beautiful about the relationship. The scene which we did also which is like one of the most talked scenes about me and Patty in the graveyard, again I am saying nothing but Patty understands everything. So, I think the beauty of our friendship is that we understand each other’s silence and it’s deep and it’s beautiful and that is what has reflected on the screen.
How difficult was it for you to do the funeral scene of Bash?
It’s a difficult scene in terms of the performance but you know the moment I saw Patty on set, Hrithik Roshan became the character. He didn’t act like the character, he became the character, so for me when I was seeing him on set, I was literally seeing him as Patty, so it became very easy for me and also Hrithik is a very honest, very supporting, very giving actor, so I just had to react to him and the scene has come out so beautifully. I also as an actor just surrendered myself in the scene and just felt the moment and performed what I felt was correct, so it has come out very real, that’s why I think people, I meet so many people and they’ve told me they’ve cried looking at that scene, so it’s beautiful to perform such scenes in the film.
Do you feel that the beauty of film is every actor has an equal importance?
I personally feel that like when I got on Fighter, of course I knew it was a Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone film, but I knew that my role is substantial. My role is important to the film. My role is important to the characters of the film. So that is something what is important for me, you know, not the length of the role or equal importance or all that, for me it means that what I am doing, whatever I have on my platter, I have to give my 200 percent and as an actor, I have to give my everything to the scene what I am doing, you know, and that’s what I have done in the film.
Go on…
Siddharth sir is anyway very gracious and sweet like that. When I got on the film, the only thing which I told Siddharth sir was that Siddharth sir give me moments in the film where I can perform and give me scenes in the film where I can perform, you know, and he just told me one thing that I will not disappoint you and I am so glad that he kept his promise and the role, the character of Saachi has come out beautifully in the film.
Do you feel Fighter will open more doors for you now?
I feel that a journey of an actor, you just have to keep working hard. I did Fighter, I have Heera Mandi coming up, so I just want to keep working hard and it’s always good to be appreciated and acknowledged for the work that you do. Because somewhere I think it gives you confidence to do better. So my job is to just keep doing work, not to think what I’m going to do or if it’s going to open doors for me. I’m just happy that people who’ve seen the film and they’ve started taking me seriously as an actor and they’ve appreciated my performance.
What kind of roles are you looking at now?
I am very happy with what I am doing. I am very happy with what I did in Fighter. I am very happy with what is going to come, which is my next Heera Mandi, directed by Sanjay
Leela Bhansali. So for me, I think I am very lucky and very, very fortunate to be working with directors like Siddharth Anand and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. And the way they are presenting me is really good. So I am loving the journey. I am going to take each day as it comes and that is how I am as a person. So yeah, for coming to the question, what kind of roles, I want to keep doing things which touches my heart. Because if it touches my heart, it will touch the audience’s heart.
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