MUMBAI: Charu Shankar a name to reckon with from her portraying the role of Ranbir Kapoors Mother in Animal to playing Smt. Indira Gandhi in Rocket boys and having shown her quirky wide in Crew the lady is a house of talent
We got into a chat with her and she had a lot to tell us
1. Tell us a little about your journey how did you start and what brought about the thought of wanting to become an actor?
In 2005, I was doing theatre in Delhi when a friend of mine suggested my name to Wes Anderson, who was in India shooting his film The Darjeeling Limited. I gave my very first audition for this and got the part! And that set me on this cinematic path. Later, i was cast in Mira Nair's film The Reluctant Fundamentalist; my first in a long line of projects with Mira, who is my absolute favorite director, my idol. It was Mira who suggested my name to Mahesh Samat when Epic channel was searching for the lead for their flagship show Siyaasat, and that's how I landed the role Mehrunissa.
2. what in the pipeline vis a vis the new projects ?
A Dharma productions film which is slated for release later this year, a show with Applause, and 2 other films which are in early stages of post production. All projects have me in various avatars- from a Bharatnatyam dancer to a college professor to an accidental murderer. So its been a good year. I'm a huge believer in manifestation and i would love to be in a action film- I've started a serious strength training regime in pure anticipation.
3. how was it working with Anil Kapoor a powerhouse of talent in Animal?
I think of AK as a mentor- I'm really very lucky i got to learn from a superstar! On the sets of Animal, AK and I hit it off from the word go! We had met and worked briefly together 10 years before, on a project that unfortunately didn't work out for me, but he recognised me the first day of Animal, and we laughed about how it seemed ordained that we were to work together after all! Watching his take on the intense drama of the story was a masterclass in itself. He's a team player, we worked on all our scenes together, searching for the core conflict, the true moment, what felt right.
Much later, during the shoot of Crew, he also guided me on comic timing, as he happened to be on set the day we were shooting the Ghia wala scene. Comedy is a difficult genre to crack, and how quickly one drops a smile or (in this case) drops a 'ghia' can make or break the scene.
4. is it difficult to make it in the industry without a godfather of sorts ?
I think if you really want to make it, in this industry or anywhere, just focus on your own self, on your skills and craft! Dilip Shankar and Adil Hussain, my dear friends and teachers, told me at the start of my career- just hone your skills, because when you are ready the work will appear. I know this to be true.
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