Constructive criticism is something that Sara Ali Khan implements 80 per cent of the time but the actor says it is equally important to block out the noise as she navigates a career where she has had her fair share of successes and failures.
Sara, daughter of actors Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan, said her mother, in fact, warned her about overnight success after the release of her debut Kedarnath and Simmba.
"I know that I got a lot of love early in my career, very, very early. And my mom, in fact, used to tell me ‘This is very scary’ because it happened overnight and it was a lot. Then came two films that didn't give me that love and that was actually scarier.
"So, I was like, ‘Okay, what's happening?’ But I've grown to see that if you do good and honest work, the audiences will give you love for that," the actor told PTI in an interview.
After the initial hits, the actor's next two projects -- Love Aaj Kal and Coolie No 1 -- failed to click with the viewers. However, her performance in Atrangi Re was praised. Sara said some films will resonate with audiences while others may not work, and all she can do is keep her head down and continue working hard, which is what she is focused on doing.
"You just hope for the best and you keep working. You don't let the noise get to you. You have to see, 'What if this is constructive criticism?' 'Where do people have a point?' ‘Okay, fine, maybe this is true. Maybe I do have to be more aware of my surroundings.
Maybe I shouldn't just let my personality be so loud that people refuse to take me seriously’.
"These are things that have been told to me and I implement them 80 per cent of the time. And then you are aware that ultimately your work will speak. If people give you that chance, which I’m lucky enough to have gotten, then hopefully they'll like me. And if not, I’ll try harder," she said.
Sara, who was last seen in Sky Force and multi-starrer Metro... In Dino, is currently promoting her new theatrical outing Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, which also features Ayushmann Khurrana, Wamiqa Gabbi and Rakul Preet Singh. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film is a follow-up to the 2019 movie Pati Patni Aur Woh, which was a remake of Sanjeev Kumar’s 1979 film of the same name.
In the film, described as a comedy of errors, the story is about Prajapati (Ayushmann), a man caught between three women, played by Sara, Rakul and Wamiqa.
The 30-year-old said she is looking forward to Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, which despite its title, is a film that can be watched with the entire family. "You can watch it with your children and grandparents. You don't have to shut their eyes, ears. They can watch the whole film. It's just been a while since I've felt that there is this community watching wholesome collective experience giving films out there in theatres."
The duo are also collaborating for the upcoming drama Udta Teer.
"He's always just cracking jokes. Keeping it light. He doesn't take himself seriously at all which is not something I honestly expected when I first worked with him. This is my second film with him now.
"On the first film, the first couple of days I wouldn't talk to him. I was like, 'Ayushmann, he must be a serious type. I won't go. I'll say something’. And then he was laughing one day, two days, three days. I was like, 'Okay, you know what? I think he could be a funny person’. And then we started laughing and joking."