Athiya Shetty made her Bollywood debut in 2015 opposite Sooraj Pancholi with Hero. While her debut film got her noticed and won her awards, it was only two years later when we got to see her on-screen again with Mubarakan. Unfortunately, it failed to impress the masses. Ever since then, fans have been looking forward to Athiya’s next Bollywood outing. The actress will now be seen opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Motichoor Chaknachoor which releases on 15th November. The trailer looks quite promising and showcases the viewer a different side of Athiya.
Ask her whether the real Athiya is raw just like her character in Motichoor and she said:
While people think that the person they see in Motichoor Chaknachoor is not me. This is, in fact, the real me. It was a conscious decision to do something different in my third film. I wanted to concentrate on challenging myself as an actor and as a person. I wanted to break my own mould. Even though I had done Hero and Mubarakan, I wasn’t happy with myself as an actor thus I attracted this film.
She further added:
I think I manifested it. I had already said no twice when the film came to me. I was questioning myself, I was questioning my director, ‘Why have you thought of me?’ It was so strange. When I found out that Nawaz sir was opposite me, I was very intimidated but also it was a gut reaction where I said, ‘This is an opportunity grab it with both your hands.’ I knew it would be a lot of hard work and it would keep me on my toes but it was all worth it.
She also spoke about not being completely happy and wanting to explore more.
Athiya shared:
I am not as happy as yet because I still have a lot to achieve and challenges to conquer. But I am definitely happy that I always listened to my gut. There is pressure but it is not about doing well. Even if you’re number one there will always be a pressure to sustain. So what I think what matters is what you do with that pressure. I always use it to give me the strength to move forward.
Speaking about the reactions she’s heard from people and her father Suniel Shetty, she said:
I don’t really remember how dad reacted because there was so much great feedback coming from everywhere. Nobody thought I could act and now I’m glad they think I can. There were so many people who were too surprised with the trailer because they haven’t seen me play a character like this before. That was a pleasant surprise when people said, ‘Oh you can act!’ and I was like, ‘Ya! I’ll take that as a compliment!’
I am looking forward to Motichoor Chaknachoor. In case you haven’t seen the trailer yet, here’s it!