Sonakshi’s success trail

“Playing Rajjo gives me a high,” says Sonakshi Sinha who reprises her role in Dabangg 2

Mumbai: Actress Sonakshi Sinha at an event in Mumbai on Friday evening. PTI Photo (PTI12_15_2012_000008B)

Sonakshi Sinha’s face is doing all the talking. She’s glowing, she’s animated and she has a ready sense of humour. Clearly playing to the gallery of media persons surrounding her, ‘Shotgun’ Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter says, “Losing weight is the story of my life”, to an oft-repeated question. Sonakshi is back with her mentor Salman Khan aka Chulbul Pandey with the sequel to the 2010 hit Dabangg — Dabangg 2. “I am truly blessed to be getting work of this kind. Salman, of course, has always been very supportive and playing Rajjo (her character in Dabangg 2 ) gives me a high. I began my career with her and till date I get requests for saying that dialogue that made her very popular ( Thappad se darr nahin lagta saab, pyaar se darr lagta hai ).”

In this part, Sonakshi’s Rajjo is married to Chulbul Pandey, the Robinhood-styled cop, and during the course of the film is shown to be three-four months pregnant. While she sticks to her traditional sari-clad avatar, her attire is more glam than in the previous film. Playing the married small-town woman wasn’t difficult, she says. “Once I slipped into Rajjo’s sari and wore the sindoor and the mangalsutra, I automatically felt graceful. It was almost natural. Of course, Chulbul and Rajjo still share their playfulness — that’s the mainstay of their romance, but there is more maturity to it. I don’t think any movies in the recent past have highlighted the post-marriage romance. It ends with the boy chasing girl bit,” says Sonakshi.

When asked if she is turning out to be the lucky charm for A-list actors such as Salman, Akshay and Ajay, she’s quick to revert, “Today you are calling me the lucky charm, yesterday it was someone else and tomorrow there is going to be someone new. So I don’t take these tags seriously,” she shrugs. When asked how her parents react to her work, she laughs, “My dad loves anything I do, while my mom is more critical of my work. She sits through my script readings and I consult my family for every film I sign.”

Sonakshi, who has been part of four other films besides

Dabangg 2 in two years — three of them being Rs. 100 crore hits, admits that a flop doesn’t spell doom for the heroine. Shirish Kunder’s Joker with Akshay Kumar has been the only lemon in her kitty and Sonakshi says, “The credit of a hit gets shared by the entire film crew, but the failure always rests only with the hero.”

Period film

Sonakshi’s next film

Lootere is with Ranveer Singh and she calls it her “most fulfilling film till date”. She plays a Bengali girl from the 1950s in this period film. “We used to shoot really long hours — almost 16 to 17 hours at a stretch. Working with Ranveer was also very interesting because he is a method actor who runs up and down for a scene that requires him to pant! On the other hand, I am a switch on-switch off actress.”

She is also working on Bullet Raja about the gang wars in UP where she pairs up with Saif Ali Khan for the first time. “For all those wondering whether I will stay forever in my traditional look, Bullet Raja will show me in a different light. There is an Indo-western fusion styling,” she reveals. The other film she is working on is Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again with Akshay Kumar. She is also reportedly playing Akshay Kumar’s co-star in Murgadoss’ remake of Thuppaki.