Sara Ali Khan, even before her film debut in 2018, had a reputation of being articulate. She's unafraid to speak her mind, be it about her ordeal with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) or how she coped with the divorce of her parents, Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh. And it is only natural for fans to expect those traits to reflect in her choice of films. "I don't think so," pat comes Sara's reply.
"The audience is intelligent. They recognise that as actors, our job is to convincingly tell stories. We don't have to showcase our personal lives and belief systems on camera," says the 24-year-old.
The actor feels cinema should be viewed as a medium through which a director or writer expresses their version of something. "I am here to tell something which might be a representation, inspiration, motivation or it might be a foil. Different characters are written for different reasons," she says.
Recently, speaking to News18.com about the response to her latest film Love Aaj Kal, Sara had said, "I've always maintained that as an actor, I think my job is done before the release of the film."
She might be just three films old, but Sara has already essayed varied roles — the vivacious Mukku in Kedarnath, Shagun, a girl-next-door in Simmba (both 2018) and the feisty, strongheaded Zoe in Love Aaj Kal. And if there is one thing she has learned early on in her career, it is to never judge the characters she takes on.
"Because for human beings in general, self introspection is an idea we want to work towards, not something we do inherently. We don't really judge ourselves very often. And to do justice to any character on screen, it's important to not do that. I don't judge Zoe. I don't judge the fact that she says f**k you. I don't judge the fact that she is a front-footed girl who gets what she wants," Sara says.
She goes on to add, "I don't think movies are the medium for actors to play role models. Actors have different platforms to do that and embody larger concepts through themselves."
There is another thing the young actor has learned in her journey so far — dealing with criticism. She faced a lot of flak for a scene in her recently-released film where she says, 'Tum mujhe tang karne lage ho', which has become the subject of memes.
"I am totally fine now. Whenever you see something different, it is immediately jarring. Somewhere down the line, the archetypical heroine cries beautifully. She has to be a bit demure, coy, beautiful, aesthetic, even in her most emotional and vulnerable scenes. My character looks ugly when she cries, she is loud and aggressive, because people can be that. People who are trying to put you down just for the sake of it, you shouldn't give them the satisfaction of doing it, just move forward," Sara adds.
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