We Live In Patriarchal World, But I'm Not Going To Play Victim: Nushrat Bharucha

Nushrat Bharucha says she joined movies as acting is her passion, but she is not delusional about how the showbiz works and rather than playing a victim she will forge ahead on the path that she has created for herself. The actor, who broke out with Pyaar Ka Panchnama, believes the success of Kartik Aaryan, her co-star of four movies, will always be viewed differently than hers.      

Nushrat says Kartik emerged as the star of the 2011 film thanks to the popularity of his monologue. "We live in a patriarchal world but I am not going to play a victim. I'm making my own world and in my world, I know that Kartik will be playing a hero at 50 and I will be getting roles of a mother. That's how the industry functions.

"His trajectory will always be more glorified and would seem larger than mine. Just being aware of where I'm makes things easy for me. I'm happy with my journey," Nushrat told PTI.

The actor, whose latest release is Dream Girl, said she no longer analyses what is going to work at the box office and goes by her instinct. "Cinema is my passion. The reason I'm in movies is because I love acting. When I did 'Pyaar Ka Panchnama', honestly there were no other films being offered because I don't fit in the conventional bracket of a Bollywood heroine.

"No other female actor was willing to do it and I also almost said no. But then I did it and I saw what a good script and film can do for everybody in the team. That realisation set my sensibilities slightly different from the commercial track. Even if I am playing a bad girl in the movie (people hated me in PKP), the purpose is solved."

Post the success of Pyaar Ka Panchnama, Nushrat went on to star in Luv Ranjan's second film Akaash Vani, opposite Kartik, but it didn't work at the box office.

She was back playing the problematic girlfriend in Pyaar Ka Panchnama 2 (2015) and followed it up with Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. Both the films featured her in grey roles and worked well. "I don't analyse now. If I like a script, I will do the film.  All I can do is work hard. The success or failure of a film is not in anybody's control," she added.

It is easy to get stereotyped in Bollywood, but Nushrat believes she has created a space for herself, which she considers a strength and not a weakness. "I never thought about getting pigeonholed. As an actor, my job is to perform and hope that filmmakers will see my acting and cast me for my strengths.

"But what I did do is that I created an identity and I decided it is something which is my space. It is my pie and I will not let somebody else take a piece of it. I have no qualms about it. I am a simple person and that reflects on screen. I am not competing for another spot. I am just doing my job," she said.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Nushrat Bharucha shot to fame with Luv Ranjan’s Pyaar Ka Panchnama.
• She went on to star in Luv Ranjan's second film Akaash Vani, opposite Kartik, but the film didn’t work at the box-office.
• Nushrat’s latest release, Dream Girl is doing wonders in theatres.