She is the daughter of Saif Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi and Bhopal, the head of an erstwhile royal family. But Sara Ali Khan feels the concept of ‘royalty’ does not belong to the 21st century. As she plays a ‘princess’ in her next film, the comparisons between her real and reel self begin. In an exclusive chat, Sara speaks to DNA about her upcoming film Gaslight, and why she – despite being the daughter of the Nawab of Pataudi – does not consider herself ‘royalty’.
In Gaslight, Sara plays Meesha, who belongs to an erstwhile royal family. As you point out that she herself is from a royal family, the actress dismisses that. “I don’t know why people say that because I don’t come from royalty. I come from Juhu. And I don’t think anybody in the 21st century can really come from royalty. It’s anachronistic,” says Sara.
The 27-year-old says that she doesn’t feel like she comes from royalty because of the ‘regular’ upbringing she had at the hands of her mother Amrita Singh. Sara recalls, “I am my father’s daughter and my grandmother’s granddaughter but I have never had a royal upbringing. I haven’t even had a filmy upbringing. It was very regular. I lived with a single mother in Juhu and in Lokhandwala before that. That was my life. It was not like going to filmy parties and dance with the King. That was not the vibe.”
So contrary to what people may think, Sara says she and Meesha are very different and the differences extend to beyond the ‘royal’ connect. Sara explains, “I think Meesha is a character that isn’t surrounded with love. That’s the first thing about me. I am deeply loved by my mother, father, brother. I don’t have trust issues because I don’t feel lonely. I am very expressive, whether it’s physically or verbally. Whatever is on my mind, you will get to know. Meesha is not like that. She is much more contained. So, it was a very different film and a totally different character to me.”
One of the major differences, as evident in the trailer, is that Meesha is a paraplegic. “She is in a wheelchair, so she can’t jump about like I do,” says Sara. Talking about how she prepared for that part of the role, the actress shares, “There was wheelchair training. We had an acting coach, Rupesh sir. We worked on the wheelchair and just tried to make it our own.”
Gaslight, directed by Pavan Kirpalani, also stars Chitrangda Singh and Vikrant Massey. Produced by Ramesh Taurani, Tips Films Ltd. and Akshai Puri, 12th Street Entertainment, the film releases on March 31 on Disney+ Hotstar.
