Nushrratt Bharuccha shares the moment Chhalaang director Hansal Mehta screamed at her: ‘I kept fumbling and messing up’

Nushrratt Bharuccha is all set to mark her digital debut with Chhalaang and is glad her work is finally reaching the audience. The actor will be seen in the role of a computer teacher in the Hansal Mehta film, which has made its way to the OTT platform as theatres still remain deserted due to coronavirus pandemic.

The actor has resumed work after lockdown and is happy to get back to the grind. In an interview to Hindustan Times, Nushrratt opened up about the film as well as all that kept her busy at home during lockdown. She also clarified her mother’s wish to get her married soon. Excerpts:

Share your reaction to Chhalaang releasing on an OTT platform instead of the theatres.

I am happy that it’s finally reaching the audience because we were waiting for people to watch it. It had been ready for a while. I am really glad that it’s coming on an OTT platform like Amazon Prime as it has the correct audience for us. I think we will have better viewership and film will reach more people than we’d expected because TV has a higher reach.

Watch: Nushrratt Bharuccha talks about Chhalaang, wedding plans 

Do you have a fun story to share from the making of Chhalaang?

It was the first day of shoot and the first time I was speaking in Haryanvi. They gave me a long dialogue in Haryanvi and I had to say it fast. All senior actors were there in front of me -- from Rajkummar, Saurabh Shukla, Satish Kaushik and others and I just kept fumbling and messing up. They had actually thought of playing a prank on me. Hansal (Mehta) sir got angry and said on the mic ‘What are you doing! How can you take 5 takes for this! This is such a simple dialogue!’ I was worried that it was my first day and he was already thinking that I couldn’t do it.

If it goes to my head that I am not doing well, then I am unable to do that shot even in 10 takes. It was take 15 and I had still not got it right. Later on, they all started laughing as they had planned Hansal ji to scream at me so that I got nervous and spoilt the scene. Then we all chilled together and I did the scene properly.

You played a teacher for the first time. Did you pick something from your childhood experiences?

We always have a friend who is not taking life seriously and is kind of a spoilt brat. We try to make that person a little more responsible and have a better plan for the future. That’s what Neelima (Nushrratt’s character) does for Montu (played by Rajkummar) – make him a better man, make him take his job profile of a PT teacher more seriously.

What led you to change the spelling of your name? Things were already going good for you as your last film Dream was a hit at the box office.

This was not because life was great and I wanted it to be better. I always wanted to get a consultation for my name for a very long time. I met a numerologist and they explained the science to me. I believe a lot in universe and how it works via energies and vibrations. They explained to me about the potential of the new spelling of my name and I did it.

Few months before, you had appeared in joint interview alongside your mother. She had said that you will be getting married very soon. What’s the update?

My mom has wanted me to get married for years. She was introducing me to prospective grooms when I did Pyaar Ka Punchnama, so imagine for how long she has been dreaming about this. I had told her that I will see proposals after one more film. After doing Akaash Vani, I told her I will look into proposals after one more film. Then Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 happened and I once again told her I will see proposals after one more film. I have done many more films after that but I am yet to go through any proposals. She is still very adamant on me meeting boys.

You also have Hurdang in the pipeline. Tell us more about it.

We haven’t finished the schedule and still have to shoot for it. Hurdang is a love story set in a 90s backdrop when reservations had just been implemented. There were seats blocked under reservations for certain people and how that affected students, exams and lives, and how this upset one particular couple’s life, who had planned a future together.

You live with your parents and grandmother, what did you do at home during lockdown?

We didn’t have any domestic help so it was mom, dad and me taking turns to do household chores. If my dad was doing the dishes at noon, I would do the dishes at night. If mom was making lunch, I would prepare the dinner. We kept rotating duties every day. Every morning we would wake up and plan the day about who was taking up which duty. There were designated days for vacuum cleaning and laundry. Basically, I have only done household chores during this time.

Follow @htshowbiz for more