At 21, Anushka Sen is one of India’s most popular Gen-Z stars. Taking the plunge as an actor at age seven, Anushka has quickly climbed the popularity ladder. Her social media following is a whopping 50 million-plus across digital platforms, with her Instagram follower count of 39.4 million being higher than many of Bollywood’s biggest stars.

Anushka, known as a ‘global star’ to her followers and beyond, now plays the lead in the Prime Video series Dil Dosti Dilemma, where she portrays a young girl named Asmara whose dreams of holidaying in Canada come to a halt when she is grounded and sent off to her ancestral town. Unable to adjust at first, she evolves into a better human being during the course of the show, which is now streaming.

t2 chatted with Anushka on the show, her Korean film Asia and what makes her a typical Bengali.

Dil Dosti Dilemma released last week. What has it been like since?

It has been quite unbelievable this past week. While we were promoting the series, there were internal comments that said that it seems like a nice show. We were very excited but also keeping ourselves very humble because we wanted to see how the audience reacts to it.

I am really grateful because every day I have been waking up to great feedback, not only about me but for the show as a whole. That is extremely motivating for me. I have been told that this is my best performance so far in my career.

It is surreal that people are loving the show so much. Viewers from all over the globe are watching Dil Dosti Dilemma and messaging me. I couldn’t be happier.

I have been working for a few years and this kind of positive feedback is something that I have always craved. I have been fortunate to get a central and layered character like Asmara. I fell in love with the script immediately but I wasn’t sure whether viewers would react to it the way I did.

There were many shows that were offered to me but I declined them for different reasons. I didn’t like the script or maybe the character or the team. Dil Dosti Dilemma ticked a lot of boxes. It is a Prime Video show with a beautiful production and an amazing cast.

Is Asmara anything like Anushka?

We are quite alike in some ways and poles apart in others. We have the same kind of energy. Asmara experiences extreme emotions and so does Anushka. If I am happy, I feel it to the extreme and if I am sad, that also is something I experience to the extreme. Both of us love to talk and express ourselves. We don’t like to be quiet in situations where we know things are going wrong.

In terms of differences, Asmara is a little naive. She is a 17-year-old who is learning the importance of relationships and that is something I, as Anushka, learned years ago. I know how important relationships with family and friends are. The impact that they have on one’s life is crucial.

Dil Dosti Dilemma has a lot of messages. It says that sometimes when you are too ambitious, you tend to forget other things and your equations with others go haywire. Asmara’s journey through this realisation and transformation is amazing. What I love about the show is that everyone around also evolves as the show progresses.

A plot point involves your character lying to her friends that she is in Canada when, in reality, she is in detention in her family home. Asmara goes to great lengths to reinforce that lie and also preserve her social media image. As a social media star with millions of followers, have you ever fallen into this trap of maintaining a certain identity or image which may not necessarily be your own?

I am genuinely and completely myself on social media. I am very close to my followers. They always know what is happening in my life and how I am feeling about things at various points. Social media is like a journal for me. When I grow older, I hope I can look back at my social media to gauge what I was feeling in the moment.

I can never relate to the facade aspect but that holds true for Asmara. She is otherwise not a liar but is forced to lie when thrown into certain circumstances. She wants the love of her friends who she has known for so many years and because she wants to fit into that circle.

Social media is all about being perfect and in the quest for that, a certain pressure comes in. It can get bad for your mental health and that is also one of the messages we touch upon in Dil Dosti Dilemma. I hope people learn from it... that it is okay to be yourself and that one needs to surround oneself with the correct friends. Good friends will accept you for who you are and if they don’t, they are not your friends.

Have you always been this grounded despite your huge popularity?

Yes. I credit my parents for it. Whenever I have a doubt, they are always there for me. They are my best friends and biggest supporters.

You started out very young. Have you ever paused to think what makes you so popular?

I keep analysing myself and what I do all the time. I have always been very critical of myself. I was offered certain roles when I was 17-18 which I didn’t take up because I felt I was too young to do them. But now I am 21 and I feel more comfortable in my skin and confident as an actor.

I feel I bring in a fresh perspective, I am real and yet aspirational and that is why my followers and the audience, in general, connects with me. While I am working, I am also doing my masters in psychology and that, I feel, also gives me another dimension.

You are acting in Asia, a Korean film. Tell us about that...

I play an assassin in Asia and it is a very interesting dynamic. The experience has been beautiful and I have learnt so much. Representing one’s country is a very big responsibility. We shot it in Korea and I have spoken in Korean in the film.

I would always watch K-dramas and would say lightly that how cool it would be if I got to shoot near the Han River (in Korea). It got manifested and I actually shot there.

The project has been challenging. It is a different country and there is the language barrier. I am grateful that they have accepted me like I am their own.

I have also been appointed as the honorary brand ambassador for Korean tourism. It happened quite organically and when I went to Korea, I would have people walk up to me to say that they have seen me on screen, courtesy a travel vlog I did which became very popular.

I want to become the bridge between Korea and India. Barriers are shrinking and the director of Asia is sitting in Korea and watching Dil Dosti Dilemma as we speak. It is such a metaverse thing!

Is there an actor who inspires you?

That would definitely be Priyanka Chopra Jonas. I have always been a big fan of hers. She has had a huge impact on my life because of the way she is. Her grace and elegance are admirable. She is also so versatile and, globally, she has taken India to a new level.

Is there anything that makes you a typical Bengali?

My relatives are in Calcutta. My jethu (uncle) lives there. It has been a while since I went to Calcutta because of my busy shooting schedule. What is typically Bengali about me is that I love shorshe maach, especially when my mom makes it. I also like alu posto. I really hope I get to play a Bengali character on screen soon.

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