If there is anything messed up in Anushka Sharma’s career, and if you can read between the lips then you have found your answer right there. Besides that she is, today, on the wish list of every filmmaker who wants to cast an actress, who is also a pretty face. At times when other actresses have to defend their choice to appear as just ‘eye candy’ in certain films, Anushka Sharma chose a path that rather suited her acting craft, than just a 50 kg-something in a hero's arm.
She never dared to make a mistake again like a ‘Patiala House’ and made sure her portions in movies, even though short, had a lasting impact. NH10 will be her 9th release in her career that comes just two months after her film with Aamir Khan broke all Bollywood box office records. But then again, that film had Aamir as its selling point.
For a film that has only Anushka Sharma as the biggest name, we wonder if the actress is taking this risk too soon?
Next week, when NH10 releases, it will be clear if there is an audience queuing up outside cinema halls to watch an ‘Anushka Sharma’ film. In Indian cinema the problem with a heroine being the main protagonist of the film sometimes only qualifies in a ‘brave film choice’, but not really a fruitful one.
Priyanka Chopra in ‘Saath Khoon Maaf’ or a Kareena Kapoor in ‘Heroine’, both the films had a total number of movie-goers that matched the lifetime audience of all Tushar Kapoor’s films. PK was an ‘Aamir Khan’ film with Anushka Sharma sharing screen space with a leading Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput. It did made way for raving reviews. But the harsh fact is, the long queues outside cinema halls were solely for Aamir Khan and may not have been for the actress, who was also in the film.
But sometimes, logic has been proven wrong. Kangana Ranaut in ‘Queen’ turned out to be the most profitable venture of 2014. But again, on day one, very few people actually went to cinema halls to see Kangana. It was word of mouth that took the film to new heights and earned Kangana a huge apartment in Bandra. The script and Kangana’s performance were made for each other. Ditto for Rani’s role in ‘Mardaani’ or Vidya Balan’s performance in ‘Kahani’ and ‘The Dirty Picture’. Sadly, those two blockbuster films couldn’t save the fate of ‘Bobby Jasoos’.
So going by how leading ladies’ films have fared when they were the biggest name in a project, NH10 too may see a similar Friday. Movie-going audience will go to see a film and Anushka Sharma fans will surely not miss this one. But it will be a completely different Friday for the actress from what she is used to seeing when paired with a big movie star in the past.
Only word of mouth will keep the movie alive after Monday and Anushka’s brave decision to turn producer with NH10 will only hold value if it sets the cash register ringing. But, it’s Anushka Sharma who has never followed the rulebook and set her own standards in whatever she has done.
