Actor Sanya Malhotra is currently basking in the success of her latest release, Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery. Her portrayal of a small-town inspector leading an investigation surrounding two prized jackfruits is winning her raving reviews. Sanya might be heaving a sigh of relief now with all the love that’s coming her way but the period leading up to its release wasn’t really a cakewalk for her.
In an exclusive chat with News18, she reveals that there was a time when she would be breaking down post every release and though that hasn’t happened with her this time around, she has been dealing with a whole bunch of some quite difficult emotions. “I’ve stopped crying after every release. But I think the imposter syndrome has kicked in again. I’m still fighting it but I think that it’s okay and normal. I’ve expectations from myself but sometimes, I tend to get too harsh on myself,” she tells us.
Sanya has often opened up about seeking therapy to protect her mental health and breaking down on the sets of Love Hostel (2022), unable to sleep at night and feeling uncomfortable throughout the shoot process. While she has now learnt to draw a line between real and reel, she shares that she’s now focusing on learning to enjoy promoting her films by keeping her anxieties at bay. “I would really like to enjoy this process of a film’s release. A kind of nervousness creeps up a week before any release. I let it go on or around the release date because I see it as the last leg of holding on to a character,” she says.
The 31-year-old further explains, “I don’t feel like letting go of my characters or my films and I hold on them till the last minute. But at the end of the day, a film isn’t ours but the audience’s and that’s what I’ve started to remind myself while I promote it. I tell myself that I can’t really change anything now and that helps shutting down all the thoughts that go on in my mind.”
In fact, her nervousness prior to the release of Kathal got the better of her and talking about it, Sanya remarks, “The other night, I was really nervous thinking that we’re promoting and talking about Kathal so much and wondering how the audience will react to it. This generally happens to me a week before a film’s release and by Monday, I’m ready to move on.”
One of the reasons that attracted her to its script was the fact that it gave her the opportunity to dabble in a light-hearted space and let her play a happy character that doesn’t take a toll on her. She elaborates, “I was looking for stories which are light-hearted and have a strong social message to them as well and have a very nice combination of everything. I think that we, as an audience, don’t get to watch films nowadays which we can sit with our family and enjoy. I wanted to just go to a set and feel happy about shooting. I just wanted to live a happy character.”
The actor, who will next be seen in Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, goes on to add, “When I read it, it sounded like a unique and bizarre concept at the same time but never frivolous. And I was hopeful the audience would also like and love the film the way I did as an actor.”
Kathal is currently streaming on Netflix.
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