12 Years of Anushka Sharma: The rise and rise of a brave, bold actor

Anushka Sharma Picture Courtesy: Yogen Shah

December 12, 2008; we saw Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which starred Shah Rukh Khan and marked the debut of Anushka Sharma, who played his wife Taani. For us, Surinder and Raj (both the roles played by Khan) were one, for Taani, they were too. This was (almost) a film dealing with extra-marital relationship as much as it was about a man's alter and clandestine ego.

Given the narrative of the tale, the film received polarised response with digs at the implausibility of the theme. It was only two years later in Band Baaja Baaraat, when Sharma made her mark in the Hindi film industry. She shone in a spunky, spirited character that establishes charmingly and cleverly why wedding planning is the best and the most lucrative business, especially in a city like Delhi.

Her free-spirited nature blended effortlessly with the energetic aura of debut-making and scene-stealing Ranveer Singh. After two years and three films, one star was born. Her choices and performances began to see a rise, with characters others would often think twice before veering into.

Also Read: Anushka Sharma: I Intend To Keep Working For As Long As I Live

She made her debut as a producer with the 2015-thriller NH10, which she also acted in. It was a dark, edgy thriller, not just because it was mostly shot in the night, but because it put two people into a horrific and hideous situation and there was no way to escape. The actress bled, screamed, fought, and ultimately owned every frame she was in. The middle finger she showed to her perpetrators was indirectly a dig at all those who thought only men can let their fists do the talking.

Her unconventional choices continued with another experiment called Pari, which was not exactly a horror film that way the promos suggested and it was marketed. She barely spoke in the film, hardly promoted it too, was messy and mysterious throughout the running time, and justified the one-sentence filmmakers often use to describe their movies- "This film is different." Pari was indeed different.

Even in lesser lovable characters like the one in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, she infused warmth and played it with fearlessness. It takes courage to get married to a man who has already cheated on you, to dismiss true love as mere friendship, and to embrace death gleefully, but this is how her career has shaped up, with her courage.

She's currently on a hiatus; was last seen in Zero two years back. One only wonders what her next film would be, but as SRK said in her debut film; Let's leave it on Rab. And as the recent thriller's title read- C U Soon.

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Also Read: 3 Years Of Us & Very Soon 3 Of Us: Anushka Sharma Pens On 3rd Wedding Anniversary

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