Actor by chance

What made you sign Sikandar then?
I love acting,but Black happened by chance. I hadn’t planned a film career. Sikandar happened when Piyush Jha came to me and asked me to read the script. I realised that the film had some meaning to it and most importantly it was being shot in Kashmir,a place I always wanted to visit.

You play the female lead in the movie. Tell us more.
I play the role of a 14-year-old Kashmiri school girl who meets Sikandar. One day on our way back home we come across a gun lying on our path. The story takes a different turn from there and our lives change forever.

How was it working with Parzan Dastur who was also popular as a child artiste earlier?
It is always fun working with another teenager. Besides giving shots,we hung out a lot in Kashmir. The movie was in sync sound so getting the Hindi dialogues right was quite a challenge. I spent most of my time rehearsing my dialogues with him.

How was the Kashmir experience?
We were in Kashmir for a month and a half,and my mom had a great time shopping for leather. One day she came on to the sets with around 50 jackets for the entire unit. We also went trekking a few times.

When you were signed for Black,it was said that you didn’t know who Amitabh Bachchan was. Have you done your homework now?
In my defense,I had never ever watched a Bollywood film my entire life. I watched only Hollywood films and I knew Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts. Now I know a few more actors — John Abraham,Bipasha Basu,Salman Khan,Shah Rukh Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma.

What about the cast of Sikandar?
I made it a point to watch Sanjay Suri’s My Brother Nikhil and Sarika’s Parzania before I started shooting.

Post Black,have expectations risen from you as an actor?
A little bit. But what I do is try to be myself. I am always being me in every film. This is how I am.

Do you think having a Bollywood career will be easy based out of Pondicherry?
I am 14 now. I will be in Pondicherry just for two more years till I finish school. After that I plan to go to America for further studies.

No more movies then?
I will definitely do movies. A lot can change in three years. May be I will continue to work in movies in America. After all,my dream is to work with Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts.

Do people from your hometown look upon you as a celebrity?
Not at all. People do recognise me,but nothing has changed at a personal level or in school or among my friends.

What next?
I will be in class nine soon. Besides,I have received a couple of film offers,but haven’t signed any so far.