Happy to be part of the change: Sonakshi Sinha on female roles in Bollywood

Success has ruined more people than failure, believes actress Sonakshi Sinha, who says she neither shouts from the rooftop when her films do well, nor does she sit in the dark and cry over her movie debacles.

“I have been brought up in a way that I treat success and failure in the same way,” the actor said while promoting her forthcoming film Noor.

“Somebody once said, ‘success has ruined more people than failure’. So it’s very important to learn from mistakes and not dwell on them. When I had my huge successes, I never got on to a rooftop and shouted that my films are a hit; and in the case of failures, I don’t sit in a corner and cry about them.

“You move on and do your next film,” added Sonakshi.

The 29-year-old, who is the daughter of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha, made her debut with Dabangg, a film that starred Salman Khan.

Subsequently, she delivered hits like Rowdy Rathore and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and a female-driven film like Akira. She also tried her hand at a different genre with Lootera, which gave her a chance to show her range as an actor.

She will next be seen playing a journalist in Noor, scheduled for a worldwide release on April 21.“I feel my journey in Bollywood has been great. Some of the initial roles I did have put me in a position today where I shoulder a film like Akira by myself. I have played two title roles and it is really exciting to be able to do that.Honestly, the films that I have done in the past have put me in a position that I can do roles like Noor today,” she said.

She is also glad that the industry is changing in a way that’s favourable for women. “We are moving in a direction where films are being made with female protagonists, and it’s really exciting because, finally, good and amazing roles are being written keeping women in mind. I am very happy to be part of this change and to be able to do those kind of roles,” she added.

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, Noor is a crime thriller-comedy adapted from Pakistani novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me!.

The novel centres on a 20-year-old reporter, Ayesha Khan, living in Karachi, her misadventures and finding a nice lover. However, the film is set in Mumbai.

Asked about how this cross-cultural exchange between India and Pakistan can help, she said: “We are just here to entertain people and that’s our purpose. It’s an entertaining film taken from the book with the only purpose to entertain and nothing else.”

The message she wants the audience to take is: “Your voices are important. Youth has the power to make a difference.”