Miss India Earth 2014 Alankrita Sahai, who made her feature debut in Anand Tiwari’s Netflix film Love Per Square Foot in 2018, stars in Deepak Tijori’s Tipppsy, which released at theatres on May 10. We chatted with Alankrita about the film about a bachelorette party gone wrong, her sabbatical and her career plans.
Was becoming an actress an obvious choice after winning Miss India Earth in 2014?
Alankrita Sahai: I was not even prepared for Miss India. In fact, after Miss India and the international pageant, I took a sabbatical of six months. I was not prepared to be in this industry. I had to have courage to be there and face so much attention. I’ve always got attention, but this is a different sort of attention to deal with mentally. So, it wasn’t an obvious choice to become an actress. But when destiny handed the opportunity to me, I was not going to throw it away. It was a gradual process, from modelling and TV commercials to films. I worked with 309 brands before I felt I was ready for films.
You had an interesting role in your Hindi debut film Love Per Square Foot (2018). What good did that film do for you as an actor?
Alankrita Sahai: To work with Ronnie Screwvala (producer), Anand Tiwari (director) and the ensemble cast was spectacular because we all were trying to make a mark. Netflix was booming in the country at that time. Working with a big production house like that is an opportunity that every actor looks forward to.
I played the character of Rashi Khurana, which is different from who I am. It was not like the usual first film that one would do – dancing in the mountains, wearing a sari and hair blowing. It opened the doors for me. Producer-director Vipul Amrutlal Shah signed me for Namaste England (2018) starring Arjun Kapoor. Working on that film broadened my perspective. It made me meet great people.
After Love Per Square Foot, did you get the kind of offers you were expecting?
Alankrita Sahai: Different kinds of roles? No. Beautiful, hot, gorgeous girl? All the time. Why do you think I cannot look deglam? My point is that when you can make a superstar look young, old, deglam, scarred or beautiful, why can’t kids from the newer block, not from the star families, be also given that same opportunity? Getting that opportunity is important and I’m ready to fight for it.
I did a film titled Band of Maharajas, where I played a Punjabi kudi named Simran. I am playing Sujata, a doctor in a psychological thriller titled Dead Girls Don’t Talk with Sharib Hashmi. She’s the alpha leader of the pack. I’m doing another film titled Vidya Kasam with Sharib, where I am a Bihari girl.
I don’t want to be constantly cast as a hot and pretty girl. There is more substance to me than just the way I look. Allow me to showcase my talent.
How did Deepak Tijori’s Tipppsy happen?
Alankrita Sahai: Tipppsy came to me when I lost my dad. I didn’t want to work after I lost him. I’ve lived in Bombay all my life with my dad and I didn’t want to go back. But it felt like my dad was saying, ‘Girl, I’m sending you this film to just do something, get off your lazy booty and get going.’ I took Tipppsy as an opportunity to heal myself, and to experiment with and explore the character of Pony because she’s different from me. She’s submissive. I am extremely bold and brave. She follows the pack. I’m the leader. She’s easy to fool. I am naive but not dumb. Pony is a studious West Delhi girl trying to be modern, marrying this rich guy, you know, those insecurities that women have. It is her bachelorette where things go wrong and murder, mystery, mayhem and magic happen.
Did your onscreen friendship with the girl gang turn into friendship with any of your co-actors?
Alankrita Sahai: I made two best friends, Kainaat Arora and Nazia Hussain. We are like Charlie’s Angels of Deepak Tijori. We bonded well and we have been friends since then. They made my life so easy on set considering the kind of baggage I was already carrying after losing my dad. It was not easy to shoot a film set in the same city where I built everything with my dad, two months after his death.
Nazia and I have travelled together. Kainaat and I have gone to work together. When I did a series titled Fuh Se Fantasy for JioCinema, I recommended Nazia to the casting director for the next episode and Nazia did that episode.
Having said that, not everybody on set was my best friend. I was respectful of Natasha Suri. Sonia Birje and I hardly had much camaraderie or interaction, and I kept my distance and respect as a co-actor. But Tipppsy was a joyous ride. You know how much fun girls can have without men. Women just like to be with each other in safe spaces doing their best. Tipppsy is not a sultry film. It’s a comedy thriller. It’s like The Hangover for women. I’m just hoping that people open their minds to the fact that women can also have fun in their own way, and not be judgmental about it.
Working with someone like Deepak Tijori who has had his own share of hits and misses, what were your takeaways?
Alankrita Sahai: What I took from him would be perseverance, patience, consistency and preserving your peace of mind regardless of your losses and successes. Everybody who has built their name in this industry has gone through hits and flops and so has Deepak sir. The point is, what do you expect yourself to do, and how far do you see yourself positively in that frame of mind? I’ve seen Deepak sir snap out of the negative zone.
You did several music videos in the meantime. Was that a strategy to survive in the industry?
Alankrita Sahai: I was launched in Himesh Reshammiya’s music video Aap Se Mausiiquii (2016) which was launched by Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and T-Series. So, how would I not like music videos? That got me the love. It is very important to survive in this city. I wanted to make my own money.
My idea of doing music videos was to do something different. I did Coka (2019), which plays in every Punjabi wedding. It was picked up by Karan Johar for Liger (2022). So, when you reach a milestone like that, you automatically get more opportunities. Music videos make you dance and act, and they make you famous. It’s a two-three-day shoot. You make good money, become famous and continue practicing your craft in front of the camera.
Where do you see yourself now and where do you want to go in the next five years?
Alankrita Sahai: I see myself as an actor who’s worked hard enough to be where she is. Even if your films haven’t worked, people must see that you’ve worked consistently. As they say, ‘out of sight, out of mind’. I think I could have done more, I gave up a few years of mine. But that was my choice; I don’t regret it.