Flaunting an envious, toned bod, Sonakshi Sinha is in the best shape of her life. But it’s not just the weight loss that has lent Sona her newfound sense of calm and confidence. It’s her winning attitude that makes her a cut above the rest. Honest, humorous and happy — the actress tells us what keeps her going, how she deals with naysayers and all you need to know about her forthcoming film, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi (HPBJ).
You have undergone a startling physical transformation. Unfortunately, your weight has been a talking point over the years, but you have silenced your naysayers with a bang. What triggered the change?
It has to happen from within. I woke up one day and decided to utilise my time in the best way possible, which was to work on myself. I tried a new form of workout (Pilates). Earlier, I used to eat anything and assume that it’s okay to do that since I was exercising, but it doesn’t work like that. You have to strike a balance between your meals and workout. I have only been able to achieve that in the past six months and the result is visible.
SONAKSHI SINHA
FINALLY, MY BODY IS MATCHING MY ATHLETIC PERSONALITY: SONAKSHI
Obviously, compliments from others who meet me and tell me how great I look also help, but those things are temporary. It’s about how you feel about yourself. What you see in the mirror is what matters. I am feeling better and that is what keeps me going. Also, I will be very honest with you. My shoot (for HPBJ) got delayed and I had two months to myself and had nothing else to do. So, I went to the gym, started working out and it’s as simple as that.
You had once said that when you were not ‘thin enough’, various designers were not keen on dressing you. Has that changed now?
You put it very politely (laughs!). There are people who have said that, ‘We cannot style Sonakshi because she is too big’ or ‘I can’t give her my gowns, because she won’t look good in them’. It’s not nice to say these things. It stays with you. Now, these same people constantly call my stylist and request her if they can style me. They send clothes, too, but you tend to always remember these things. Too bad! If you didn’t like me as a potato, you can’t have me as a fry!
You have always been an athletic person. Today, you have an extremely toned body. Did you always aspire to achieve this level of physical fitness?
Yes, I have always been an athletic person, but I never had an athletic body to go with it. I have played every sport in school. I still love to play sports. Finally, my body is matching my athletic personality and I am happy about it.
Your workout video with Katrina Kaif was a gruelling watch. It looked like one heavyduty workout session. Do people like her inspire you a lot?
My trainer (Namrata Purohit) is extremely motivating. Katrina is hard-core when it comes to workouts and her trainer is on the next level (laughs!). One day, I told her I am really tired and she was like, ‘I am taking you to the gym’, because she figured I might not end up going. I went with Katrina and it was fun. She does a lot of functional training and I have to say, she is definitely one of the fittest actors we have in the industry today.
Akira (2016), Noor (2017) and now Happy… Today, you’re getting an opportunity to showcase your range as an actor in different genres. Also, the interesting thing is that these are movies where the women characters lead the way...
Every actor just needs that opportunity to show their range and what they are capable of. A lot of amazing roles are now being written for women and it gives us an opportunity to showcase our talent and portray a different side of our personality on screen. I feel we should do away with this term called ‘women-centric’ cinema. We don’t call other films ‘hero-centric’. A film is a film, whether the protagonist is a man or a woman. All of us, at the end of the day, are trying to achieve equality, so we need to stop differentiating.
Do you feel lucky to belong to a generation who gets offered diverse roles, as opposed to a time when opportunities for actresses were more conventional?
I feel very lucky, but don’t get me wrong. I love to be on both sides. I got the confidence to do these kind of movies because of the films I have done in the past. Whatever I know, I have learnt on the job. The kind of reach and audience I got initially was because of those big blockbusters. They gave me the confidence to shoulder a film on my own.
Do you seek your father’s opinion when it comes to approving scripts and movies?
Sometimes, I do, but the final call is always mine. If I need some advice, I always turn to my family, since they have so much experience in the movies. I am not the one to sit and strategise. I have always been instinctive when it comes to choosing my films. If I like it on paper, I will do it, if I don’t like it, I won’t do it. If I have to agree to a project, I do it instantly. I don’t dwell over it or have several discussions with people.
Did you have any apprehensions about taking over a franchise, which had another actress, Diana Penty, in the lead?
HPBJ is about these two girls who are called Harpreet Kaur, and thus Happys. Strangely, they both end up in China and that’s where the confusion and comedy of errors unfolds. When they came to me with the script, I couldn’t stop laughing. Because of my Punjabi traits, Happy’s character came naturally to me and I felt at home. I didn’t have to fill anyone’s shoes because these are two different characters. We have the same name and that’s the only commonality. As people, we are completely different. For me, it was about how to carry the story forward. Jassie Gill and I are new entrants to the franchise and I treated it like a completely new film. Also, it helps being a funny person in real life. I am a positive person, who doesn’t take life seriously, and I have a knack of seeing the lighter side of any situation. Also, I have been blessed with my dad’s sense of humour, so all of this really helped.
On social media, you don’t hold back from voicing your opinions and are not diplomatic. Do you think the industry appreciates someone who is safer with his/her words?
If I feel strongly about something, I talk about it. I don’t really care who thinks what. That’s who I am as a person. What you see is what you get. When you get into this profession, a lot of things change anyway, so it’s important to stay true to yourself, which is what I have done right from the beginning. I don’t intend to change that and if anybody has a problem with it, it’s their problem.
