Parineeti Chopra has many reasons to smile. Her recent outing Shuddh Desi Romance (SDR) has come out with flying colours at the box office. Not only is her film doing very well but the audience and the critics are raving about her performance in the Manish Jha desi romance. Some have even compared her natural histrionics and ebullient spark on screen to the likes of Rani Mukerji and Kajol in recent reviews of SDR. Not surprising at all. Just two years ago this 24-year-old had taken home all the best debutant awards for Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. And now self-admittedly Parineeti feels that she has raised the bar for herself. Presenting excerpts from an interview where the actor talks about love, relationships, boyfriends, living-in and some shuddh romance ion desi style.
How important is romance for you?
Very important! Not the cliched romance but love, yes! I am single right now but I’m not looking for love as such but it will be nice to be having a relationship with a person you love.
So what is stopping the romance for a young and lovely girl like you?
I’m in some other space only right now. It’s very difficult to find someone. You are just meeting the people you are working with. You are basically meeting your directors, actors, your crew and your ADs because they are the people you work with. When I am working with them you do not think of romance, it doesn’t occur to you unless I really fall for someone. It hasn’t happened yet.
That means there are hundred per cent chances of falling in love with someone you work with.
(Laughs) If that happens, great because then he will understand my life! Otherwise, normally it’s difficult for someone from outside the industry to understand my work and my crazy schedules. For example a person, like my dad who lives in Ambala doesn’t understand my life. Now he doesn’t mind me romancing heroes on screen but he still doesn’t understand my working hours. He doesn’t understand how perfectly normal it is for me to be at work till two in the night. He doesn’t understand night shifts. I need a person who, even if he is not from the industry should at least be able to understand the life of an actress.
So your parents are a worried lot?
Yeah, they are always worried. In fact, they irritate me so much sometimes. They call me and ask ‘Khaana khaa liya, yeh kara, woh kiya’. I am like, ‘Oh God! I am 24 years old. I can take care of myself. Stop it!’ They’ll always feel like she’s a ten-year-old who needs to be taken care of and told, ‘khaana khaya?’ If I’m talking to them and I happen to sneeze or cough – bas, I’ve had it. Then it’s ‘See, I told you, you don’t take care of yourself. You are not having your medicine on time. You are falling sick. I am coming over there’ and then full drama happens.
So it’s ghar ka khaana only when they are in Mumbai?
No, now I’ve become very disciplined. I also bring ghar ka khaana. I have a cook who makes my dabba everyday and I take my own food to the set every day. Now they are happy that the khaana department is sorted. The rest of the things we still have to sort.
We are curious. Pray tell us about the rest of the things.
So many things! My accounts, my paper work I need to do attend to. Stupid shopping for the house, it never happens because I don’t get to do it. If my parents suddenly come to Mumbai and there’s no milk in the house, they are like ‘See, you do not have milk in the house’. I never get time to do general domestic stuff. I don’t get time to do anything which now I have got people to do. My parents feel that I am only working. They don’t understand that we work like crazy hours most of the day and we just go home to sleep. That is our life. Literally! Our houses are like hotels for all of us. We just go home to sleep.
You said romance is important. So how important is it that it be shudh and desi?
(Laughs) To each his own. It needs to definitely be shudh. Desi or videsi, I don’t care. It needs to be a healthy, happy relationship. It has to be a person you are genuinely compatible with, genuinely in love with, a person who is your ‘go to’ person. And he becomes your companion for life. That is important.
So videsi options are open for you?
Yeah, of course! I mean it will be great! We’ll have culturally infused kids.
How important is marriage to have kids?
Hmm not biologically important. But I guess, for the point of view of society it’s very important. (Laughs). I don’t know yaar. See, I’m only 24. Theoretically, I like the idea of getting married to someone one day. But, I am also of the belief that you should get married when you are comfortable with it and when you find somebody right. If you genuinely think it is important to get married who knows, you as a couple might decide not to have kids. Then it’s not important. Then you are just living with each other. It’s like being married.
Does marriage and having kids complete a woman?
No, I think it’s like another role in your life. I may not feel it today because I am young, I am working and single. I feel, ‘No, no I don’t need marriage. But maybe after three, four, five or six years I will feel like ‘No yaar, I really need a husband, I need in-laws and I want that and I want kids to not be judged’ because that happens you know. You are not married, you are a single parent of a child, then you are judged, unfortunately. So, I don’t know yaar. I don’t know the answer to that question. I will only know that when I come to that bridge.
You said you are looking for love.
I’m not really looking for love. You people always ask, ‘Do you not have a boyfriend because you are concentrating on your career?’ I don’t believe in all that. I just feel that both can happen together. So, yes, if someone comes along, I would be happy to be in a relationship.
You have no time for your accounts and paper work. Wouldn’t balancing personal and professional life be difficult?
Why? Why? Why? See, I’m working all day today. The only thing different will be that at eleven o’clock tonight, I will go home to someone. Won’t that make me happier? And if I have a problem at work, I can call him and discuss it with him. It will all be better I think.
Did Shudh Desi Romance (SDR) take you a notch higher as an actor?
For sure! As far as my performance is concerned, a hundred percent! The person I play in the film is not me. It doesn’t come naturally to me so I’ve had to really work hard with (director) Maneesh (Sharma) and (scriptwriter) Jaideep (Sahni) who held workshops with us. I had to work very hard with them to get to that performance. So a hundred per cent it is a step up. Ishaqzaade and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl were enthusiastic, energetic characters which are close to my own personality. So I had something to draw from. But here, apart from being lively and fun in the songs, in the film I was very quiet, suljha hua, simple person. So, that was very hard for me to play.
