Neha Sharma says she was asked to do networking to get work in Bollywood: ‘I can’t attend parties and say sir kaam de do’

In an interview with indianexpress.com, Neha Sharma says it is “not easy” to get good scripts in the industry, where she rarely gets offered films so compelling that she can’t say no. So, the actor says, her choices indicate the best of what she has as she is not privileged to sit and choose.

“I don’t even want to say I get five good films offered in a year, no. I get may be five, but then may be all of them are really bad and one of them is decent. So you have to pick the decent one. It is not like I have 100 films to choose from. Even after 15 years, it is the same drill. There is a lot of luck involved in this, which you cannot fight and a lot of other things, which is networking, PR, being visible, all of that.

“If it happens or doesn’t happen, there isn’t much that you can do. You can work hard on the film that you have. If it does well, then your chances of getting those 100 scripts might be a possibility. So, when I do a film, I do it with conviction and hope it does well,” she says.

The actor is no stranger to being “advised” a lot of things to boost her career, one of them being to socialise to get work. Neha confesses she tried to attend Bollywood parties, but soon realised networking to ask for work is not her cup of tea.

“In the beginning, I was told to network and to be seen out there. I did go to a few things. You would probably be in a corner, and no one is talking to you, that’s not the thing I want to put myself through. It is not something I can do. I am an actor, I know how to act, I don’t know how to be, ‘Sir kaam de do.’

“That’s not what I am good at, that’s not what I am going to do. If you are going to give me a role because I am good at my work, then good, otherwise so be it, it’s okay. A million people come to Mumbai to become an actor, at least I have gotten to act for over a decade!”

Directed by Kushan Nandy and jointly produced by Kiran Shroff and Naeem Siddiqui, Jogira Sara Ra Ra also stars Sanjay Mishra and Mahaakshay Chakraborty. The film, written by Ghalib Asad Bhopali, is scheduled to release on May 26.