After acting in a few ads and web shows, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya gets her big break in Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan. The singer-songwriter-composer — who has no less than a Grammy nomination (as part of Berklee Indian Ensemble for their album Shuruaat) to her name — plays a role that demands her to do a lot of action in the Atlee-directed film that also stars Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara.

Sanjeeta, the daughter of renowned painter Sanjay Bhattacharya, was in Calcutta for a music gig when she got the call to audition for Jawan. t2 chatted with the young talent on the Jawan experience, her biggest learnings from SRK and the turning points in her music-acting career so far.

The Jawan 'prevue' has created a huge buzz. What's it been like for you since the prevue released?

People are really curious about the fact that for the first time ever, Shah Rukh Khan is showing up without hair! (Laughs) Everyone is like: 'Oh my goodness... he doesn't have hair!' They are also pretty intrigued by the fact that in one scene in the prevue he has hair and he doesn't in another. People are like: 'Is it a double role?'

The audience is also curious about the girls, including me, who are in the film. The prevue doesn't say much, if at all, about the story of the film per se. The prevue is extremely action-packed. The audience is amazed by the cinematography, which is done by Mr Vishnu (G. K. Vishnu). I am quite flabbergasted by how amazing the film looks.

How did Jawan happen for you?

It was quite a surprise, actually. I had a musical show in Calcutta in August 2021 and I got a call from (casting director) Mr Mukesh Chhabra's team. They told me that they would like to audition me for a role in a film. I went to Bombay the following week for the audition and at that time, I had no idea what the project was about and who was involved in it. A week later I got a call saying that I had been selected. I asked them for details about the project and they told me that the protagonist of the film is Mr Shah Rukh Khan! They kept rattling off the names of Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara one after another and I was like: 'What are you talking about?!' (Laughs)

I had done the audition in a very nonchalant manner... I had no idea what I was doing it for. But I think that really helped me because if I had known I was auditioning for Jawan, I would have been so much more nervous and working under pressure. Those are the best auditions... when you don't know what's happening and you just do it for the sake of doing it. It was purely fate that landed me such an amazing opportunity.

What was the experience of making Jawan like?

Jawan is my first theatrical film. Before this, I have only worked in a bunch of ads and OTT shows. Jawan has been a larger-than-life experience for me. I remember walking onto the set one day and seeing 700 dancers in front of me! I was amazed. I said to myself: 'Oh my God, this looks like a film!' And the next moment, I went: 'Oh wait! This is a film!' (Laughs) It was really surreal.

It's been two years in the making, we have been shooting on and off, and just meeting these incredibly talented icons and chatting with them in the most casual way — sharing a cup of coffee or singing a song for them or even dancing on set — is not something that happens to everyone on the daily, right? Sometimes we would crumble under the hectic schedule, but I would always tell myself to count my blessings because this is incredible!

The making of the film has been amazing. We did a lot of combat training, there is a lot of action involved as you can tell from the prevue. This was physically, emotionally, mentally a roller-coaster experience.

What were your biggest learnings from working withShah Rukh Khan?

No matter what, show up and work. He is such a workaholic but also a family man. He has a great work-life balance. He has taught me that with success, comes a massive amount of humility. And the man can move! (Laughs) He can really dance. He has taught me that no matter what part of your body is paining if work demands it, you have to do it. Got to do what you got to do is what he believes in. His experience shows up in everything that he does. He can rattle off a nine-page dialogue without pausing and over multiple takes. He comes in having done his homework. There is so much to learn from him.

I also have genuine love for Sanya Malhotra. She is supremely talented, we worked in Jawan together. The friendship that all the girls in the film share is special.

Was acting a natural progression from being a singer/ songwriter?

It was natural in the way how I easily adapted to it. But the way it happened was very random, to be honest. In the latter part of 2020, I got a call for an ad and I was like: 'Okay, maybe I will just audition for it, why not?' I auditioned and it went through. Very soon after that, two more auditions for ads came in and even those went through. Then I was called to audition for Feels Like Ishq on Netflix and I was curious about the name and wanted to audition for it. To my surprise, it went through as well! Feels Like Ishq was my debut in the long format.

From then on, it became a kind of addiction... I wanted to go back on set and do more. Kisi cheez ka chaska jab lag jaata hain then you want more of it. I did not know that I would enjoy it so much. I had no prior training or any affinity towards it. But I would have to credit my training in Kathak. I have learnt it from Pandit Birju Maharaj for more than 10 years. Kathak comes from 'katha', which means storytelling and that definitely helped me in my expressions. That was the only affinity towards acting I ever had.

How much do your skills as a musician help you as an actor?

Both art forms involve putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Empathy is the connecting factor between both. When I write a song, it's sometimes about myself and most often about putting myself in someone else's shoes. The same goes for acting.

You have had a prolific career so far as a singer/songwriter, including a Grammy nomination. What would you count as the highlights of your musical career so far?

One of the turning points has to be the 2015 concert with Mr A.R. Rahman. 'Berklee meets A.R. Rahman' was the name of the concert and we prepared for it day and night for four months. The whole band became a family. When we were performing, I remember the sheer joy that we felt. We didn't do it with the intention that it would go viral, but it did. We put in our heart and soul and the video reflects that. It's been more than seven years, but people still write to me about it almost daily. A lot of people, even outside the country, recognise me for it.

Also, making my own music in 2017 was a turning point because before that I would only do covers. Graduating to writing my own music was a big step for me. I am a singer, songwriter and composer now. I am going to release quite a few songs this year and acting-wise, I have finished Jawan and Season 2 of the web series The Broken News. I am looking forward to the release of Jawan and where it takes me.

Priyanka Roy