Beyond perception

When you heard the title Dream Girl, did you think that it might be about you?

Yes of course, I thought that. By any film industry standard or normal English language standard the meaning of Dream Girl will be that it is about the girl in the film. But when they said that there is this twist in the film that the hero is actually the 'dream girl' of many, my initial reaction was, 'Wait, tell me more about it.' Because, when you listen to a storyline like this, it will catch anyone's interest. Your first reaction will be – How can this happen? How will it happen? And when I finally heard the full narration, I just could not stop laughing. I went on laughing for an hour. I felt like this is such a quirky take on the story that there was one Dream Girl so long ago whom no one can replace. If this was a girl's story, there would have been a direct comparison, which would never ever be justified. In fact, I think that in 2019, we are making such quirky cinema with such great stories and it is such a great idea to take a boy and make him the Dream Girl.

There is a grey image attached to you with the success of your films like the Pyaar Ka Punchnama series and of course, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. Do you think that with Dream Girl you will be able to break it?

I didn't plan to break that, generally speaking. But with Dream Girl, I guess that it has been broken. In this film, for the first time, I am not playing anything grey. I am pure white. I am an ati sundar pure soul, white from within. And I love this man from within and eventually marry him. But yes, this is the first film where you will see me actually getting married on-screen. My first successful on-screen wedding. (Laughs).

You have had a steady rise to success. What learnings do you have when you look back now?

I have learnt a lot. All of that learning has helped me become who I am right now. And everything that has happened in this course, I am thankful for it. Whatever, be it the good, bad or the ugly, I am genuinely thankful for it. To everybody who rejected me, I would like to say that thank you very much because if they hadn't rejected me, I would have done those films and they would not have worked. Stuff like that also happens. I am happy where I am and I am happy that I am still starting off in a place where there is not too much pressure on me. I like being in a space where I can experiment, do things that I like doing. I like that I am still new.

But you also have experimented with new concepts in cinema. What elements do you choose your films on?

Just the story. I hear a narration and then I read the script, I think about it from the audience's point of view. But every kind of audience, I feel, has their own sensibilities. One group may like something and the other may like something else. So, if I like something then it doesn't mean that it has to match with what the masses are thinking.

It will not be a call where the opinion is unanimous. But since I like it, I enjoy it, I instantly want to essay that part or be part of that film and be in that world. Then I just say yes.