Shriya Saran: My husband got offended when the trolls said, ‘Gore se kyun shaadi ki?’ – BigInterview | Hindi Movie News
When you’re juggling between work and personal life, what does a typical day look like?
I woke up early in the morning because Radha (her daughter) got up early. She is my alarm clock and then we go for a walk, come back and have breakfast. Then, if I have to go shoot, I get ready and Radha will say, ‘Goodbye’ and then go straight home. When I don’t have to work, I do Kathak, do yoga, go for a walk, run and play with Radha. Sometimes I annoy her and most of the time, she annoys me (giggle).
Just a few weeks ago, you passed a personal milestone, celebrating your 40th birthday. How have you managed to stay good looking? Is it because of your fitness mantra?
For the longest time, fitness seemed to me to look like everyone else. Although I want to look hot, which I still want, now I feel more confident and I want to look my best the way I am. I love yoga and dance. That keeps me happy and that’s what I do.
Are you a well-trained dancer but the audience rarely sees you dancing or acting?
When will that aspect of your personality stand out on screen? Yes, I am a Kathak dancer and my dream is to dance on the big screen. I really want to dance. I love Kathak and I have always been a dancer. My first teacher was my mother and then I learned dance from Guru Shobana Narayan. Now I am learning from Nutan Patwardhan ji who is from Mumbai.
You move to Mumbai in August 2021 with your husband Andrei Koscheev and daughter Radha. How do you feel when you go back to work and leave your kids at home?
It is very difficult to do that and that guilt is always present in all mothers when going out to work. I’m not fully aware of this feeling, but once I got a call while on set and my nanny at home informed me that Radha had just said the word ‘mumma’. And I wasn’t home at the time, so I ran home. However, when a child begins to speak, a word may come out only once and the child will not repeat the word again. Because to them it’s just a sound, something they’re learning. And I was sitting there, hugging Radha but she didn’t say ‘mumma’ anymore. And I feel that I missed something.
The next morning, when I went to work, I told myself I would make it worth it. That I will work hard today and someday when Radha watches and watches my movies, she will feel proud of me. She will love my work and I will give my best today. Because if I’m not at home and miss a good moment then I want to go to work and do my best. And I feel like that’s what I did. When I was on set, I was there and I wanted to do my best. I feel like leaving her behind has given me the strength to work harder and she gives me the strength to do better at what I’m doing.
That is fascinating. Please continue.
It was really hard to leave her house. I try to spend a lot of time with Radha. When I’m at home, I’m with her. My parents really help me out, they make sure she’s really okay. I have a lovely didi (nanny) who really loves Radha and I am so lucky. Andrei was very helpful and supportive. We really try to be with Radha and she is a very special child. She is beautiful and lovely, she is kind and very naughty.
Your recent hit movie Drishyam 2 and the series also feature you as a mother. How close is your character to your true self?
I’m not Nandini. I’m the first to wear shorts and a t-shirt when I leave the house. But I also love wearing sarees. My mother is a chemistry teacher and she usually wears a saree to school every day. So many kids fell in love with her because she was so beautiful. It’s really like ‘Main Hoon Naa’ happens in real life school. I learned how to wear a saree from my mother and I look so graceful wearing it too.
What is the best compliment you have received from your husband Andrei?
When he watched ‘Drishyam 2’, he said he was very proud of me.
Andrei and you stormed out with that kiss at the Drshyam 2 premiere. Does trolling bother you much?
I do not know. They (the trolls) really don’t do that to me. They are really good to me. When they write something, I feel very funny but in a way most of the followers are very kind. I am lucky because so far nothing unpleasant has been written about me.
Do you discuss trolling and comments with your husband?
If it was funny, Andrei would read it and we would laugh and discuss it over coffee but something really bad has been written about him lately. They said, “Gore se kyun shaadi ki?” Andrei was really offended, he said that he is a human being first of all. I comforted him and told him we laugh at funny trolls, so we’ll have to deal with these too and let’s just ignore this. Since then, it has almost become a ritual that neither of us read anything written about us. He doesn’t Google me and I don’t Google myself. We don’t read comments unless they are written by our family and friends. If not, we don’t read, we don’t care.
The success of Drishyam 2 has brought new hope to the film industry. Did you expect it to become such a big hit, as audience tastes have shifted towards OTT dramatically?
When a person works hard, he or she wants the movie to be really successful. There was a good vibe on the set of Drishyam 2. Everyone loved being on set and everyone loved it. Nandini is a very difficult character to play. She has many classes but I really enjoy playing it. I really enjoy it when people love it on the big screen. I hope people love it more. And I hope people will continue to watch it. I think ‘Drishyam’ is a movie with great handling. I like to be Nandini. I love what Abhishek (Pathak, director) did with it, the treatment he gave the movie was really amazing. It is also beautifully written. So I really feel that the credit goes to the two writers, while as an actor, I really feel lucky that people love my performance.
How was your first day on set with the same cast taking on their roles? It’s the same series but with a new director. Do you remember the late director Nishant Kamat who directed ‘Drishyam’
?
On the first day when we were shooting the first scene and we were sitting across the table to do the breakfast scene, all of a sudden I said, ‘Nishi sir’ and then I realized he wasn’t there. this. It was a difficult feeling because he directed the first part so well. Our characters, Vijay Salgaonkar, Nandini, Anu, Anju, Mira and Gaitonde, are all very popular and everyone knows them. But wherever Mr. Nishi is, I know he is blessing us and giving us all his good vibes. Abhishek has filled his shoes wonderfully. He did a great job and he absolutely knew what he wanted. He is a great director to work with, very patient and very calm and it was great to work with him.
What was the experience like working with Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna?
Ajay sir is a very intense actor. He gives a lot for his co-stars to work with. His voice is so beautiful. You hear his voice and you know it’s Vijay Salgaonkar. He spoke with his eyes and they were intense. He is very self-controlled and calm in what he is doing. He’s just a great co-star to work with and it’s been a pleasure to work with him. I have worked with Akshaye Khanna before. He has a very different approach to the character. The scene where he enters the house and where Nandini feels things have ended is intense and well written. I think that’s the scene where all her emotions come out. That scene shows how claustrophobic she is and how she can’t say anything to anyone. I really enjoyed doing that scene with Akshaye.
Recently you have another large hut, ‘by SS Rajamouli’RRR‘. A lot of fans think there are similarities between your characters and their relationship in both movies.
I do not know. When SS Rajamouli called me and said they were working on a movie, all I knew was that Mr Ajay would be in the movie but I didn’t know exactly what his role would be. I love the films and works of Mr. Rajamouli. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I’ll play any role, small or big, it really doesn’t matter. Just the impact he can make and the way he shoots is so beautiful. I’m glad I did ‘RRR’.
