Despite making her debut with an author backed role in a successful film, Adah Sharma was not seen in too many Hindi films. The actress headed towards South and acted in a string of commercially successful films. In this interview, she talks about making a comeback to Hindi films earlier this year with ‘Commando 2’, working in the Southern film industry, ‘1920’ completing ten years of release, making her Tamil debut and shares her memories of celebrating Christmas.
With ‘Commando 2’, you made your comeback to Hindi films as a leading lady. How was it getting into the industry you had started out as an actor with?
Last year, I had done four Telugu films and one Kannada film. So, I did not feel that there was a break as such. My last day of shoot on ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ was also my first day of shoot of my debut Telugu film. I have been working constantly since then. Half of the technicians in the Telugu film industry are from Mumbai. Though ‘Commando 2’ was a Hindi film, I was playing a South Indian character in it. In my last Telugu film, I played a Muslim and had several lines in Hindi. So, I did not feel that I was moving back and forth between two industries.
Is ‘Commando 3’ being made? Are you a part of it?
Yes, I am a part of ‘Commando 3’. We will start shooting for it early next year.
You have been a part of successful films down South. How was the experience of working there?
When your films do well and your work is appreciated, it feels really good. I think I am very lucky because in the last couple of films I did, the roles were written specifically for me. The director of ‘Kshanam’ had got a specific role written keeping me in mind. When my performance was appreciated, I feel he deserved a lot of credit for it as he had seen my earlier films and wrote the character keeping my strong points in mind. In ‘Commando 2’ also, they tweaked the character to put in stuff I could do well.
Was it difficult doing South Indian films? Did you have to face any challenges because of speaking a language you did not know and adapting to a new cultural milieu?
I like picking up languages and mimicking accents. I had to learn new languages and but for me, it was a fun thing to do and a great learning experience. The fact that those films did well encouraged me to do better as an actor.
You will be making your Tamil debut in ‘Charlie Chaplin 2’ opposite Prabhudheva next year. Can you share something about the film?
I am a Tamilian. So, speaking the language was not difficult at all. It is a sequel to ‘Charlie Chaplin’ which released in 2002. It was remade into several other languages including in Hindi as ‘No Entry’. The story of ‘Charlie Chaplin’ is not connected to the first part but as it is a part of a franchise, it will have some thematic similarities to the first one.
Your debut film ‘1920’ will complete ten years of its release next year. Your performance in the film was much appreciated and I feel, it was one of the most challenging roles given to any debutante actor in the recent past. How do you look back at your experience of working the film?
The film did well when it released but I think over the last several years because of repeated television broadcasts, its audience has grown vastly. The amazing thing about ‘1920’ is that it will never age as a film. Usually, films get old and after a point of time it looks dated. When you see a film after fifteen or twenty years, you wonder why a certain character is speaking like that or why the costumes are looking so dated. As ‘1920’ was a period film, you will never feel these things while watching it even after a hundred years. It was a difficult character to play. I had no background in films but based on that one audition I gave, I was trusted with the responsibility of playing this well-etched out character.
Do you have any special memory attached to Christmas?
I was in Chennai shooting for ‘Charlie Chaplin 2’ on Christmas. I went to a Catholic school, so I have a lot of memories of Christmas. One of the teachers would come dressed up as Santa. We would sing Christmas carols and exchange gifts. Christmas has always been a lot of fun.