NEW DELHI: From her supporting role in “Delhi 6” to playing filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s muse in “Kaatru Veliyidai”, Aditi Rao Hydari has come a long way.
The actress, who is working with some of the biggest directors in the film industry, says she is proud that she has come this far without any backing.
“I came from nowhere and it has been baby steps. I don’t have that kind of backing but I never crib about it. I always feel blessed because so many people have taken me under their wings, nurtured me and made me a part of their vision,” Aditi told PTI. The 30-year-old actress says it is hard to sustain in films but self-belief is her driving force. “The wishes that I made, the dreams that I dreamt, I did realise them. It is definitely a struggle. Getting work is not tough but to work with people I always wanted to is difficult,” she says. Her next Bollywood release is “Bhoomi”, directed by Omung Kumar. The movie is a father-daughter story and the actress plays the titular role. “It is my first title role. The film is about a father standing with his daughter. It is about men being together with women and empowering them. The experience has been soul- wrenching. The character has made me push my limits. I actually get attracted to such stuff,” she says. Post “Bhoomi”, Aditi will be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus “Padmavati”. The actress says she is living her dream as she always wanted to work with filmmakers like Ratnam and Bhansali. “I want somebody to push me and grill me and extract a performance out me which nobody expects. After Mani sir, it was Omung sir and now it is Sanjay sir. I am living my dream,” she says. Both Bhansali and Ratnam are known as tough task masters, but Aditi believes getting out of one’s comfort zone is important. “I always wanted to work with Mani sir and Bhansali sir. I may be in an uncomfortable situation someway, but I don’t consider it as I like being challenged. There is a great joy in it. These filmmakers nurture you and they are like a drug, you keep wanting to go back to them,” she says. Aditi says she looks up to acting greats like Amitabh Bachchan to stay inspired. “I don’t want to become a jaded person and I don’t want to be complacent. I always want to feel this excitement and I hope I can. And when I see people like Mr Amitabh Bachchan, it drives me more,” she adds.–PTI
