Mrunal Thakur reveals she felt intimidated while working with Shahid Kapoor; expert shares tips to overcome the feeling

The initial awkwardness continued. “During the shoot of Jersey, there were days when I would forget my lines because I was so overwhelmed being on the sets with Shahid Kapoor. He’s a great co-star,” Mrunal said, “but for the first few days, I was also a little awkward. I tend to get intimidated when working with people, who I have really admired on screen.”

“While doing scenes together, I kept thinking to myself, ‘This is Aditya (Shahid’s character in Jab We Met)!'” Mrunal shared. (A still from Jersey)

Stepping into a new role, especially when surrounded by seasoned colleagues, can be a daunting experience. Just like Mrunal, you might feel a mix of excitement and nervousness, eager to learn but intimidated by their experience. Sridhar Laxman, executive coach and founder, Lucid Minds Coaching, said it’s easy to feel intimated or overwhelmed when interacting with or managing someone senior.

“This happens because of your assumptions, presumptions, fears and preconceived notions about the power dynamics, spoken and unspoken. Territorial behaviour and the mistaken idea of seeing the person as a threat can also make collaborating harder,” he explained in an interaction with indianexpress.com. 

When effectively utilised, your senior colleagues’ wealth of knowledge and experience can be a competitive advantage for you and your team. Their extensive experience also provides many learning opportunities and insights, accelerating your team’s growth.

Here are some tips on how to achieve that:

1. 1. Develop a healthy self-image and confidence. Know what you are good at, capable of, and where your talents rest. Work to increase your self-awareness and, thereby, greater clarity. With greater confidence comes the ability to express your thoughts, feelings, and needs without hesitation. You will also be able to stay objective and assert where necessary.
   2. Set an intention to keep an open mind and practice seeing the good in others. Focusing on others’ strengths and seeing them as your allies makes it easier for them to interact and collaborate with you.
   3. Work to build a healthy rapport and a collaborative relationship, understand their needs, and support them in achieving their goals. They will, in turn, reciprocate by extending a helpful hand.
   4. When things seem unclear or complicated, reach out and have an open, objective conversation, making the seniors aware of your thoughts and feelings. Vulnerability can be a strength when demonstrated with other mature adults. They will appreciate your honesty and support you as needed.

In her conversation with Karishma Mehta of Humans of Bombay, Mrunal also mentioned that, “committment is committment” so though you might not be feeling your 100%, you need to show up.

Sridhar agreed, adding that to excel at this, you must understand the expectations before committing to them. “Assuming it’s a fair ask, spending some time planning the task and proactively identifying potential objections and roadblocks can help you better prepare for the task ahead,” he said.

Take ownership of your professional success, be clear on values and principles that matter to you, and honour your commitments before you make them to others.

Attending to your physical, emotional, and mental well-being by making time for self-care, exercise, rest, nutrition, mindfulness practices, a healthy social circle, etc., is crucial in how you show up and interact with the world, Sridhar advised. Mrunal does just that, as she revealed, “I do therapy. It’s so important for everybody, but especially for an actor because we also get into the skin of other characters who have their own journey. So, how to resume, how to come back to yourself and not feel or get affected by the characters or the situation or the atmosphere or the setup.”

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