Memories of partition returned when she joined the film: Anjana Sukhani said – Was standing in the sun, Amitabh Bachchan sent a chair and umbrella

Anjana Sukhani, who is playing the character of Meher in Imtiaz Ali’s film ‘Main Wapas Aaung’, shared stories related to the film, career and life in a special conversation with Dainik Bhaskar. He said that his family had a deep connection with Partition and the stories from this period made the film personal for him. In the conversation, he also shared experiences related to the humility of Amitabh Bachchan and humanity of Shahrukh Khan. Question: Your film ‘I will be back’ has been released. How is the response to your character and film? Answer: Very good response is being received. The film is getting love from both the audience and critics. After all, this is Imtiaz Ali’s film, so the same was expected. People are also liking my character ‘Meher’. The story of the film is quite intense. There is love, pain of division and trauma in it. In such an environment, my character brings lightness and humor. Meher is very outspoken and whatever comes to her mind, she says it. People are saying that her character feels like freshness in the film. Glad to hear this. Question: What was the most beautiful compliment you received about your character? Answer: Got a lot of good compliments, but heard again and again that Mehar’s character somehow sounds like the song from ‘Jab We Met’. Geet was also carefree and used to say her words without thinking. This comparison is a big compliment for me. Question: Imtiaz Ali works a lot on his characters. What separate preparation did you do for the character of Meher? Answer: Imtiaz himself comes with so much preparation that the artists do not have to work very hard. My character was also soft and light, so I did not have to do much preparation. I just tried to understand what is the background of this character and what is his thinking. I didn’t want this character to seem negative. Whatever Meher speaks, she speaks in innocence, with no intention of hurting anyone. After getting the script, I always write the character sketch as per my own and then discuss it with the director. After that things become easier. Question: The film is the story of the Partition era. What did you do to understand that time? Answer: Both my maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents came to India at the time of partition. My grandmother was from Karachi. I have heard many stories from that period from him. A few years ago I had shown him his old area on Google Map. She became emotional. She had not even thought that she would ever be able to see the place she had left again. That was a special moment for me. Question: What else did your grandmother tell you about that period? Answer: She told that her family was quite prosperous. They had big houses there, but when they had to come here they had to leave everything behind. She had told that she was able to save only a few personal items. Imagine, one day suddenly someone says that this city is no longer yours and you will have to leave everything. It must have been very painful. When I watched the film, I remembered his words again and again and realized how much the people who lived through that period must have endured. Question: What was the most memorable experience during shooting? How was the shooting environment in Punjab? Answer: Most of our parts were shot on Mumbai sets and some shooting took place in Chandigarh. The atmosphere was just awesome. The first thing we got was Punjabi food, hot Kulcha and Chole in the morning. It was November and there was slight cold, so the shooting was more fun. Most of my scenes were with Naseer sir, Diljit and Rajat sir, so it felt like a family atmosphere on the set. Question: How was the experience of working with Naseeruddin Shah? Answer: I did not talk to him much because his character was intense. When an actor is in such a deep character, it is important to give him space. He kept to himself on the set, but watching him work was like learning. It is a big thing for any artist to share the screen with him. Question: Diljit Dosanjh has become a global star today. How was the experience of working with him? Answer: I think Diljit is destined to become a global star. Every generation likes his music. As an artist, the most special thing about him seems to be the sincerity in his eyes. When he performs, it seems that he is playing the character with complete sincerity. In the film also he has worked with calmness and simplicity. Question: Your journey has been very beautiful. What do you consider to be your biggest success? Answer: The biggest success for me is that I got the opportunity to work with such great and wonderful people. How many people today can say that their film was released in theatres, and that too with such filmmakers and artists. This is success for me. No one can decide the box office. We can only control our work and hard work. Question: You have worked with many big directors and veteran artists. What has been the most beautiful thing in your journey so far? Answer: The most beautiful thing for me is that I got the opportunity to work with the best filmmakers of the country. When I look back, I feel that it is a big thing to work with directors like Nikhil Advani, Rohit Shetty, Ram Gopal Varma, Raj Mehta and Imtiaz Ali. I consider myself lucky. Question: When it comes to working with such big names, how was your experience with Amitabh Bachchan? What did you learn from them? Answer: I worked with him in a Cadbury advertisement and later in the film department. The biggest thing I learned from him was humility. My grandmother used to say that the more fruits a tree bears, the more it bends. Amitabh Bachchan is the best example of this. I still remember standing in the sun during the shooting of the Cadbury advertisement. I was new, but they asked their staff to give me a chair and an umbrella. It might have been a small thing for him, but for me it was a big moment. I will always remember such great care being taken by such a great artist. Question: Have you had any such experience with any other artist who has influenced you? Answer: Yes, with Shahrukh Khan. At an award show, I had to immediately go to the washroom and the only thing nearby was his van. I asked if I could use it. He opened the door effortlessly, took her inside and later came to drop her outside. Despite being such a big star, he has no ego. Perhaps this is the reason why people love him so much. Question: Any character which is close to your heart? Answer: There was a film Jashn. Bhatt Saheb had produced the film. She wasn’t a big hit, but her character was close to my heart. I found it easy to connect with that character. Apart from this, Salaam-e-Ishq was also special for me because it was one of my first big films. Question: What was the most difficult phase of your career? Answer: There comes a time in every artist’s life when he does not get the work he wants. Those times are emotionally difficult. But that phase makes you stronger. It is up to you whether you break from it or come out stronger. Question: What kind of characters do you want to do next? Answer: I would like to do a mature love story. Also I think I can do comedy well. Earlier, more comic characters were written for actresses, but now such opportunities are less. I would like good comedy to be written for women.



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