Parineeti Chopra continues to receive praise for her shape-shifting act in Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila, streaming on Netflix. t2 chatted with the actor-singer on life after Chamkila and more.
It has been more than two months since the release of Amar Singh Chamkila, but the advantage of a film being on a streaming platform is that it is there for posterity. Do you still wake up to feedback for the film every day?
Absolutely! The biggest takeaway for me from the audience reactions has been them saying that Parineeti is back! I feel that is their way of saying: ‘We put you up there on some pedestal of performance and we have now seen a performance which is on a par with what we expected out of you.’ That has impacted and inspired me the most.
What has happened after the release of the film has been mind-boggling. It has redeemed me from all the mistakes I have made in my career. It is a bona fide hit and the love that has come my way for Amar Singh Chamkila feels different from that for any other film. I have had successful films in the past but Chamkila hits different.
The process of making the film was unique. On set, were you aware that you were on to something special?
As an actor you agree to be part of a project because you like the material, role and the director. But sometimes, things don’t go well. Anything can happen on a set because it is a variable creative process.
While working on Chamkila, we were all obsessed with the material and with the music... it was a set full of love. Imtiaz sir (Imtiaz Ali, director) was an amazing captain of the ship. We had thought: ‘Okay, we will make a decent film,’ but Imtiaz Ali has made the best film I have ever seen in my life! It is such a perfect film, with great performances, great music, the cinematography was very good. But while making it, we never thought it was going to be this perfect.
What was it like getting to sing for an A.R. Rahman musical with Diljit Dosanjh for company?
We sang live on set and not in a studio. And so the challenge was
100 times more difficult because it was almost like theatre. Imtiaz sir wanted it to be raw and real and also something that has never been done in Bollywood before. To sing and act almost like a musical and not lip sync to a track was a challenge that actors today don’t really do. We dance on set, we speak dialogues, we do stunts, but we don’t sing and act in a scene.
This is a challenge very few actors will be able to pull off. In fact, very few actors will say ‘yes’ to this, first of all. But in Diljit and me were two hungry artistes who wanted to go out there and play with this fire.
It was exciting to do it because there was a real audience, real sound system and we were really singing those songs and performing them with the band on stage. I don’t think this musical journey will ever be repeated. And to be directed by A.R. Rahman, we are speaking of ‘God’ here! It was amazing!
Has playing Amarjot marked a shift in you both as an actor and a person?
I feel nervous because the experience of this film cannot be topped. We were a group of ‘meditators’ who used to work very calmly, almost with a Sufi-like mindset.
Both Diljit and I are very spiritual people and Imtiaz sir is a very calm person. We would work in perfect sync. We would shoot on time, go home on time.... I am going to be looking for this kind of satisfaction and happiness in every film. Maybe I won’t even do a film till I feel I will get such an experience.
As an actor, it has reiterated the expectations that the audience has from me. When I do a film that is weak, they let me know. Chamkila has reinstated my commitment to always provide that level of performance to them and not be part of a film that doesn’t allow me to give that to them.
I am an actor by accident. Everything that I have learnt about films has been on set. I have done right and wrong things, but it has always been from the gut. Over the years, the realisation has been that I need to trust my instincts more and only do roles that have substance in them and are bloody good!
Is that being reflected in the offers that you are getting now?
A hundred per cent. Many filmmakers have told me that they have seen something in me in Chamkila that they hadn’t seen in me before. They can now imagine me in roles that they wouldn’t have thought of me in previously. You show a variety of work and that is how you get a variety of work.
What is the future for you as a singer?
Chamkila has done a lot for me as a singer and I don’t want that to go to waste. I am definitely going to take it seriously. Singing was always a hobby for me but now I have a platform where I have access to so many music directors. I have signed up with a music management company that takes care of the top artistes in India. They are going to take over my music and I plan to do everything — singles to albums to collaborations to stage shows... I want it all!
I want to be an actress who has an acting and singing career parallelly. Actresses generally sing here and there but no one has had an active singing career. I want to have both.
If you had to prepare a showreel of what you feel are your three best performances, what would they be?
Oh God, that is really being very vain! (Laughs) Chamkila is definitely up there because it is a biopic where I had to emulate someone and that is always tough. I had to transform myself physically, sing and have the mannerisms of someone else. I will pick Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar because it was a very, very challenging role and got me many award nominations. Golmaal Again was difficult and different in its own way. Hasee Toh Phasee also had a difficult role. The Girl on the Train was very intense and dramatic. I had to do a lot of homework for all these roles.
You recently put out a social media post saying that just because you don’t post pictures often doesn’t meant that you aren’t living your life to the fullest. Being a famous face, how do you navigate the pressure to not be present and relevant on social media all the time?
It has been one of my biggest struggles explaining to people that social media is not your life! Instagram is what I choose to put up... how are you assuming that is my entire life?!
The biggest problem with people is that they post everything about their lives and then they assume that everybody else is doing the same. If I started posting on social media, I would have to put 20 different posts a day because that is the variety of stuff I do in my life. The reason that I don’t post that often is because I am busy living my life. I travel so much that I simply don’t have time to post.
People limit their minds to only what they see on social media, which is very sad. Actually the reason I am not posting is because I am living a full and busy life.
You put up a post today asking people to be kind to delivery agents...
I wanted to wake the conscience of certain people. We sit in the safety and comfort of our homes or offices and order parcels and food left, right and centre. It may be pouring outside and those poor delivery agents are on their cycles struggling to reach you on time because if they are late their office is going to put a penalty on them. A delivery agent is 10 minutes late and we as customers start demanding free food. People have just gone crazy!
I wanted to remind everybody how much they do for us. All we have to do is just be nice to them, help them out, offer them a glass of water, offer them some money if you can, offer them any kind of help that is possible.
If we can be humane and forget our privileges for a second and be nice to each other, this world will be beautiful.
What are the things that, in today’s world, whether it is in the film industry or outside it, that you want to put your weight behind and bring to attention?
I want men and women to be treated equally. I hate it when I am told that I can’t do something just because of my gender.
Also, I would definitely get behind living a more real, authentic life. We all are given a limited time on this earth and we spend it doing very unimportant things. I would urge people to realise the meaning of life.
