It was in 2018 that Sara Ali Khan made her big Bollywood debut with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kedarnath. Next up, she starred in Rohit Shetty’s Simmba, Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal, and David Dhawan’s Coolie No. 1. The actress, who is the face of Zee5‘s Dekhtey Reh Jaogey campaign, will next star in Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re. 

Each film different, each character interesting – Sara’s journey, so far, has been a notable one for viewers, but also for the actress, who wishes for this just to be the start and hopes to be a part of many more projects in the future. 

Five films old in the show business, including the yet-to-release Atrangi Re, Sara opened up about her biggest lesson so far in an exclusive interview with Times Now Digital. A thought, not as much a lesson that’s been on Sara’s mind is that one can only give a hundred percent to their work, and leave its fate on the concerned authorities.  

“You’ve to give your 100% to every project and the fate of it you have to let go to bigger authorities, like the media and the audiences,” she said, adding, “If you adopt that approach, then no amount of success or failure or adulation or criticism can really get to you.”

The actress believes in seeing everything, in the same way, whether it is Kedarnath, Aankh Maarey in Simmba, or the interval scene of Love Aaj Kal, that Sara admits was “panned”. 

“I see all of it the same way – which is to see what people like about it, what people don’t like about it. What I am to repeat, what I am not to repeat. But I don’t define myself with any of these things. It’s very important to create, it’s very important to learn, but it’s very important, maybe most important to disengage and go back to the person you are. Because ultimately, that’s very important for mental survival,” articulated the actress. 

Asked if there’s been any moment when she was unable to disengage from a character or a project, Sara candidly shared that luckily for her, she’s been shooting back-to-back films. 

Going back to her debut film Kedarnath, Sara said, “Kedarnath is obviously a film I was most emotionally invested in, because it was my first film,” she said, adding that before its wrap, she started shooting Simmba. And before her first two films released, she started her prep for Love Aaj Kal and started shooting for Coolie No. 1 even prior to the Imtiaz Ali-directorial’s release. As for her upcoming film, Sara started Atrangi Re while Coolie No. 1 released.  

“There hasn’t been that much time. But with Atrangi Re, I think it’s probably the second closest to me after Kedarnath because it’s come to at the moments where I’ve needed it the most,” she said, explaining, “I think right after Love Aaj Kal, I most needed an opportunity to kind of go out there and prove to myself who I really am.”

Sara started shooting Atrangi Re just 10 days after the release of Love Aaj Kal. “Then I was shooting for it every time we got a moment between the pandemic and I think that it’s seen me at very emotionally fragile and volatile times of my life. Therefore, I hope I have managed to bring out a performance that people can relate to and enjoy,” shared the actress. 

The actress remains grateful for all the opportunities she’s received and hopes to be a part of different genres and projects in the future. As for Zee5’s interesting campaign, Sara is of the view that it’s an apt idea for the times right now.  

Elaborating, “There isn’t much to do on the outside, but luckily we have all the entertainment we need right at home. And everybody, once they start watching the content Zee5 has to offer in more than 5 languages, and 150+ shows, aap dekhte hi reh jaaoge. Binge-watch karoge aur maze karoge, that’s what the campaign is about.”