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FD: As seen with Gehraiyaan (2022), you seem to be consciously gravitating towards strong female characters that are written with depth. But there was a time not so long ago when major projects were made keeping A-list male actors in mind. As one of the country’s biggest stars and a successful producer, do you now insist on having well-rounded female characters in the films you act in and choose to back?
DP: I’m having the opposite problem today, where I have to insist on filmmakers not keeping me in mind for just a certain kind of role. They are doing their own filtration and sieving process before approaching me. A lot of the time, I hear of a film going to someone else and wonder why it wasn’t me, and the filmmaker will just tell me that they thought I wouldn’t do it because it didn’t have a big enough part for someone like me. Of course, it could also just be an excuse for why they didn’t want me in the first place. But to answer your question: no, I don’t think I’ve had that issue in a while. People assume that I’m only going to do certain kinds of films and roles, so I only get offered those.
FD: You entered an industry that so fiercely nurtures and champions its own, as a South Indian model, and turned into one of its most successful actors. A lot of the credit for the kind of films that mainstream Hindi cinema is now making, where they’re taking women more seriously, writing better characters, and showing more sensitive portrayals of mental health, can be attributed to you. How do you feel about having moved the needle so significantly?
DP: If any praise for that change, no matter how big or small, comes my way, I will take it. It’s definitely a lot to digest, but at the same time, I won’t say it’s untrue because my purpose has always been that. As an outsider to the industry, I inadvertently ended up becoming an observer, which I believe has enabled me to change the status quo. Earlier, I probably didn’t have the confidence or the clout to be able to effect change, but the desire for it was always there. Even as a child, I was always curious about why things were done a certain way. I would never take anything lying down or be satisfied with things being handed to me on a platter.
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