Reader’s DigestVenice Film Festival for the premiere
of Victoria & Abdul with Stephen
Frears and Judi Dench. Suddenly,
Amal and George Clooney came in
to say hi and we were all just chilling
at a really cool place. I thought,
This is amazing!How do you prepare for your roles?
I make sure that I read the script tho-
roughly and this might sound odd,
but I find out what my costumes are.
Once I know my costumes for every
scene, it adds up as a painting in my
head and then everything else comes
out of that.Do you have a mentor in Bollywood?
God, I wish! At the start of my career,
I had great influences like Saeed
Akhtar Mirza, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh
Khan and Anand Rai. Of late, Richa
[Chadha] has been someone who I
really look to for advice.You are known for not adopting a
particular image or genre. Would
it have been better otherwise?
I probably would have made more
money or would have been part of
‘bankable projects’, but my conscience
wouldn’t allow that. It’s helped peo-
ple, but I think the idea is changing.
So, we have to raise the bar and not be
scared to try new things.What do you think about the gender
pay gap in the film industry?
I think it’s changing. I hope in thecoming years, India gains enough
momentum to be able to have this
in our contracts. I remember fighting
for bathrooms for women on the set
at one point. However, we still have a
long way to go when it comes to pay.What are your thoughts on the digi-
tal entertainment space in India?
I think it’s evolving expediently. At
the same time (and this only happens
in India), we have suddenly made
endless platforms for digital shows. I’m
worried this might affect quality, and
then, we’ll be back in the same hole.Do you Google yourself?
I did that recently when someone told
me what’s written on Wikipedia about
me. So much on it is wrong. Not all of
it, but a lot of it.What’s next?
I have Prasthanam coming out in
September 2020. I am currently
shooting for Mirzapur 2 and will
start shooting for Bhoot Police soon. I
have also done a Netflix film called
House Arrest and another film
called Arranged Marriage.’ ’
ma
nd
ar
d
eo
dh
ar
/i
nd
ia
to
da
y
readersdigest.co.in 115I HOPE INDIA GAINS
ENOUGH MOMENTUM
TOWARDS EQUAL
PAY. WE STILL HAVE
A LONG WAY TO GO.