Movies, Mantra, Madness – Malang! Disha Patani

Disha Patani (pronounced Paatni) has finally struck gold with Malang. The film did not hit the 100Cr mark, but it has been declared a Box Office hit! She might have started her career in Bollywood with ace director Neeraj Pandey’s MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, continued with a superhit in Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi franchise and carried it forward with Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bharat co-starring none other than Salman Khan. Yet, Disha’s only claim to fame was being Tiger Shroff’s rumoured girlfriend. Her small roles in big films weren’t working. She changed that somewhere between signing up to be a Calvin Klein model to doing Mohit Suri’s Malang alongside Aditya Roy Kapoor. Here, she tells Shubarna Mukerji Shu how her journey has been thus far! 

Malang has had a happy outing at the box office; plus there is Salman Khan’s next Radhe already around the corner. How is it like living your dream?

I feel so fortunate, I cannot begin to explain. The fact is that I don’t belong here, I am not an industry kid. I don’t know the ropes. I have to tell myself not to be in awe of the person I am working with almost all the time. Be it Jackie Chan, Sushant Singh Rajput or Salman Khan – I am grateful to each of them for working with me when I started off. I am not the type to go out and ‘network’, I don’t know how to ask for work. Today I am
getting work because all these actors believed in me.

Did you consciously not name Tiger Shroff?

He is omnipresent in most of my interviews, I guess. But what I was trying to say is that these senior actors gave me a chance, which means a lot. Tiger is my only friend in this industry; he is one of the most dedicated actors we have and it was really a pleasure to share the screen with him in Baaghi 2. Before you ask me, no we are not dating.

So let’s close the Tiger Shroff chapter and move on to how it feels to be recommended by Salman Khan...

When you are sharing the screen with the likes of Salman Khan, somewhere, you always have this nagging feeling that no one will be watching you. All eyes will only and only be for Bhai. So when you share the frame, even criticism is welcome because that means someone moved their eyes away from Bhai and looked at you. Yet, here I am today, listening to how Bhai suggested I be a part of Radhe – can you imagine how much that means to me? My hardwork is getting noticed and even appreciated; there cannot be much more than that in life!

What does it feel like for the young girl from Uttarakhand to see herself on screen?

I hate it. I mean, it has been a dream, but I am very critical of myself. I cannot stand the way I sound on screen; I am only and only pointing out my mistakes. It is a nerve-wracking experience for me to watch my work. Most of the time, I cannot believe it when people say they loved my acting. A lot of people say I have good screen-
presence. It is too unbelievable for me to be here, as I have never had any formal training in acting. I have learnt through auditions. I have learnt from my own mistakes. So,listening to praise, is still difficult for me.

Is there anyone you look up to when you feel overwhelmed by all that’s happening around you?

I am a huge Priyanka Chopra fan. I just love her confidence. I wish I too could just walk into a room and own it, just the way she does! Even if a fan calls out to me, I still get jolted.

For someone who has 30million followers and is one of the most influential instagramers, one would think you would be used to all the love and adulation.

I love it, but I don’t think I will ever get used to it. Of course, it feels great to be one of the top four most followed actresses in Bollywood, but I never had any agenda about getting here. My posts are just things I would like to share 
with my friends and fans. I am told I have hundreds of fan clubs. Most of my fans are in the age group where they are neither kids nor adults; it is a confusing time for many. Being an inspiration to them is great. That’s my high!

Now that sounds like a line for Malang…

(Laughs) You bet. Malang was so completely outside my comfort zone, that the entire film was like an adventure. Mohit Sir actually made us shoot at an actual rave party; I have never been to something like that, so it was a lot to take in (figuratively, of course!), but that aside, I was glad that I could be part of a film where I was finally styled well, with my hair all done and looking all glam! Most of my previous films, I had to stick to kajal and lip gloss for make-up because I was playing a girl-next-door type of roles! So yes, Malang was my Hindi film moment and I loved every bit of it.

Being a Hindi film heroine is no longer just about lights-camera-action, it is also paps-camera-intrusion; how do you deal with it?

I am actually a very shy kind of person. I have never had much experience with people coming up to me and striking a conversation etc, so suddenly being in the public eye is a different experience of course. But I am dealing with it. I prefer being in my own world most of the time. I am not interested in what others are doing, what they are saying. I have my own dreams and a dogged determination to make my dreams come true; so that’s what I am focused on. If paps are a part of that world, I am cool with it.

But so far you have only got praise; do you have a game plan for days when your OOTD would bear the brunt of a scribe’s bad mood?

I have a gift of sorts. I don’t allow negative things to get inside my head. When I was struggling to get some work in this industry, I was sharing my room with a lot of girls who too were trying their hand at movies. Talk to any one of them, they will tell you that Disha has a different level of focus. If I set my mind on something, I just go for it single-mindedly. I have had no godfathers in this industry, so I have learnt to rely on my instincts for everything. Be it what to wear or what to sign.

Talking about what to sign, do you have a dream role in mind?

I love Wonder Woman, Hulk, and Avengers. I am a huge consumer of superhero films. But I am not comfortable with getting rescued all the time, I would like to be the one doing the rescuing in my dream role. I won’t mind playing a female Hulk, a pink Hulk. My dream role is to play a superhero.

Despite the fact that you have had only successes thus far, you have had very few releases. Why is that?

I believe it is because I have had to be cautious. I started working at the age of 18, with no one to really guide me. I didn’t want my parents to fund this venture of mine either, so I have been on my own pretty much since
that age. Initially it was modeling, and now films. Having had no one to guide me, I usually choose things I believe I would enjoy doing. Since I started working early in life, I have not really had the chance to enjoy doing things people my age would have done. I make up for that loss with the movies I sign. To me it is the journey that matters. So I don’t want to be rushed, I am taking it one film at a time and loving every moment of it.