Sharmin Segal on Atithi Bhooto Bhava: 'It was one of my dreams to work with Jackie Shroff'

There are numerous instances of assistant directors blooming into full time directors and immensely successful ones. Sharmin Segal , who made her debut in Bollywood with Malaal in 2019, went on to become an actor. She now has her second film coming up on Zee5 on September 23 called Atithi Bhooto Bhava , which also stars Jackie Shroff and Pratik Gandhi. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress spills the beans on the film, working with the two male leads, and also her experience of being an assistant director on Bajirao Mastani and Mary Kom .

What drew you to the script of Atithi Bhooto Bhava?

There was an emotional quotient to the script, yes, it’s a comedy film, but I believe the very foundation of any relationship is communication. One of the underlying themes of this film is to appreciate and value the love in your life because this generation believes in instant gratification. So this is the aspect that drew me to the script in general. It blew my mind that people can think of subjects like these. You don’t see movies getting made on subjects like these.

What is your character in the film and what can viewers expect from your chemistry with Pratik Gandhi in the film?

When I read the script for the first time, I thought it was a very flawed character. She fights with her boyfriend on every chance she encounters. This created a kind of annoyance in my mind but the director looked at me and reassured me. There’s a scene in the film where I’m fighting with Pratik and wearing this air hostesses dress and I say that I’ll allergic to chili. When we were doing that scene, I looked upset, but when I saw that scene in the edit, it looked funny to me. And Pratik is someone, who as an actor, just flows. He has the ability to pick up a scene, which he may not have read before, and fully immerse into it. It’s just my second film and he’s been acting for years. When you’re working with someone who’s supportive, the working chemistry translates into off-screen chemistry too.

Tell us something about working with Jackie Shroff , being on the sets with him and working with him.

I love Jackie dada, I think he’s one of the coolest people. And not just cool but he’s effortlessly cool. The man doesn’t think he’s cool himself. He can say anything that comes to his mind. He’s such a warm-hearted person that you cannot help but love the man. He’s outstanding to work with. Him being Jackie Shroff, he didn’t have to stand there and give me cues but he did. It was one of my dreams to work with him because he’s Jackie Shroff at the end of the day. He’s going to shine in this film.

You have also been an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Bajirao Mastani, you also assisted on Mary Kom that he produced. How did that experience shape up?

It was one of my most formidable experiences because it helped me become who I am today. It taught me the amount of hard work it takes to be in this industry. It also showed me how privileged I was to work on movies like Mary Kom and Bajirao Mastani. I also got to observe actors like Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone . I have seen experienced actors switch on and off between action and cut. That’s inspiring to watch. I was an AD, ADs are assistants to directors, you’re literally slogging from morning till night. I used to sit merely for 20 minutes a day because I had a lot of responsibilities. Nobody talks about what goes behind the making of a film. You have to give your 100% when you’re in front of the camera or behind the camera. But nobody talks about the hardwork that goes behind the camera. There are hundreds of people that have woken up at 6 in the morning and worked till 10 in the night for your face to be on a poster.

We have seen the rise and rise of horror comedies ever since Bhool Bhulaiyaa, followed by the recent hits like Stree and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. What is your take on this genre?

I wouldn’t call Atithi a horror comedy but you’re going to feel a lot of love. I don’t like horror movies, I don’t like scary movies. When the comedic aspect comes into it, I can still watch and laugh a little bit. But as an actor, it’s a different experience doing a horror comedy since it’s detaching from reality. So I’ll be interesting to have that kind of an opportunity.

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