Actor Shraddha Kapoor says her latest rom-com "Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar" is a "refreshing" departure for her from the usual girl-next-door roles she has played in her previous films.

Be it "Aashiqui 2" or "Ek Villain", love stories have played a significant role in shaping up Shraddha's film career.

While most of the movies featured her in the role of a simple and coy woman, the Luv Ranjan directorial gave her the opportunity to play somebody who is on the "front foot and is confident".

"It's such a different character from what I've played in 'Aashiqui 2' and other films after that. She is a girl who is more in charge, she is on the front foot and is confident. For me, it was refreshing to play a character who says what she feels. She is a girl-next-door with some 'tadka (spice)'. It was a first for me," Shraddha told PTI in an interview here.

The 36-year-old actor said her character arc in the movie, which released on Wednesday, excited her as it was not like her real self.

"When he told me about the film, the story was entertaining. My character was something I was excited to play because she is not something who I'm. It was a challenge for me as an actor," she added.

"Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar" is produced by Luv Films and Ankur Garg and presented by Gulshan Kumar and Bhushan Kumar of T-Series.

The movie also features Ranbir Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and stand-up artist Anubhav Singh Bassi.

Praising her co-star Ranbir, Shraddha said the actor inspired her to do better. "He is a superb actor. The way he performs is brilliant and amazing. It made me want to do better and I felt inspired. He is a big superstar and there is a reason for it. He has consistently proven himself and his versatility as an actor. It was great to work with him," she said.

The movie also marks the actor's first big screen release post pandemic. Shraddha said the success of "Pathaan" is a good sign for the film industry and she hopes "Tu Jhoothi..." is able to entertain people.

"Nervousness is there from the aspect of audience reaction because so much hard work goes into making movies... I hope they like what I've done. At the same time, I'm overtly critical. Right now, I'm a mixed bag of emotions.

"I've my fingers crossed because it is very important for us that people return to theatres," she added.

Shraddha said she will soon start shooting for "Stree 2", the second film in the horror-comedy franchise.

"We are hoping to start shooting very very soon. For me, it was so thrilling as an actor to be a part of a horror-comedy. The first part entertained people and hopefully, the second will also do," the actor said.

"Stree", directed by Amar Kaushik, released in 2018. The film was a critical as well as a commercial success. It also featured Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Apartshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee.

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