Parineeti Chopra says she’s done films based on who her co-star, director is: ‘The actor suffers…I am a prime example of that’

Parineeti Chopra says she’s done films based on who her co-star, director is: ‘The actor suffers…I am a prime example of that’

Parineeti Chopra can’t stop gushing about the success of her latest film Amar Singh Chamkila. The Imtiaz Ali directorial, according to Parineeti, has made filmmakers and viewers see her in a different light, and the actor says she’s being offered better work than before.

Parineeti also rues how the industry questions a female actor about working after marriage. The actor says she was asked the question, too, after she tied the knot with Raghav Chadha, a politician. However, she’s moved beyond that phase, all because of Amar Singh Chamkila's success.

Excerpts from the interview:

What does Amar Singh Chamkila's success mean to you today?

It is like a lifetime achievement award. You accept that your lifetime was the last two years that you gave to the film. Usually, the lifetime achievement award comes after like 50 years of service, but this one truly feels like that because it feels like a genuine, bonafide, authentic true hit. It is not a PR hit; it is not a fake hit. It has been a film that is actually liked by people. In today’s time it feels better than any other parameters.

Also Read | With Amar Singh Chamkila, Parineeti Chopra is back and how

People have said ‘Parineeti Chopra is back'. How does it feel to have a renewed point of view in this phase of your career?

Amar Singh Chamkila has given me reviews that I didn’t think would happen. Everybody is saying Parineeti Chopra is back. That has been the true meaning of Chamkila’s success for me. That’s the true award for me, that people feel I am back.

It was something about the role in Chamkila. The character brought a performance out of me, which even I didn’t know existed and the whole credit goes to Imtiaz (Ali) sir. He has truly been an artist in that sense. He has been able to look at Parineeti on screen, seen all her work and decided, ‘Ok, I am going to ignore all of that and give her the role that is exactly opposite and I’ll back her in this.’ As an actor, I can wish for it, hope for this to happen, but it takes a director or a producer to actually physically sign you.

What has the success translated into? What is the kind of work coming your way?

It has been amazing because the kind of roles I am getting offered now are not the same roles as before. Directors have seen something in my performance as Amarjot Kaur that they have not seen in any other film before. There was one director who called me and said, ‘There was something in your eyes throughout the film. When I was writing my film, I never thought of you, but I watched Chamkila and now I can’t think of any other actress than you to do this film.’ So, I think the directors are able to see me in a new way, which wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t played Amarjot Kaur. That’s been a big plus for me.

Does an actor suffer when they do films that they don’t believe in? Has that happened with you?

When an actor doesn’t believe in a film or a role, the actor suffers and I am a prime example of that. There have been many times where I have done films that I did for all other reasons, other than my role and performance. I, sometimes, did it for a co-actor, sometimes for a director. For different, wrong reasons. And somehow the audience always expects a big performance out of me, so whenever I have not given that, I have received negative feedback. Whenever I have delivered a performance which they expect out of me, for example, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, Amar Singh Chamkila… Whenever I have done a film where I was showing them (the audience) the performance that they believe I can deliver, it has always worked.

Today, I feel no actor should ever do a film that they don’t believe in. I am now going to stick to doing films that I believe in. I now know a little bit about my audience and their expectations of me. So, I’ll try and tread that path.

Did things change after getting married to Raghav Chadha? Did the kind of work being offered to you differ because you are now a politician’s wife?

No, not at all! When you get married, the first question that people ask is if you are going to continue working. This is a very strange and cliched patriarchal mindset. But, of course, I am working and those questions stopped in a few days (of her getting married). There’s always that patriarchal thought that a woman will get married and stop working. I don’t know why that happens. What has work got to do with your marriage? So, anyway, that stopped. I have given my biggest blockbuster hit after my marriage (chuckles). I think people kept quiet after that.

Post Chamkila I am getting way better work now. I don’t think anybody thinks of me as a married person or an unmarried person. They look at my contribution to their film.

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