Actress Sanjana Sanghi, who has been receiving much applauds for her performance in Kadak Singh, gets candid with The Pioneer about the success, her fascination with seeing multiple perspectives on the performance, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Writers and filmmakers continue to use the Rashomon effect in thrillers to maintain audience interest. Additionally, Sanjana Sanghi unveiled a multi-layered social thriller and unveiled a relevant, well-intentioned, but generally a case file that is examined from multiple angles. Kadak Singh, streaming on Zee 5 for the most part, seems like a well-meaning parenting, marital, and mental health lesson wrapped around a serious white-collar crime. And it’s bringing the lead actress a lot of success!
The Rockstar fame discussed this cult success in an exclusive interview with The Pioneer, saying, “It has been extremely generous on that front, and it’s tough to pick one. However, I must admit that after the IFFI screening, Pankaj sir made a comment that truly stuck with me. He informed me that it’s my best work to date and that he particularly liked the restraint he saw in my performances. The other greatest compliment, I believe, came from my grandfather, my Nana, with whom I am very close, who attended our Delhi premiere and remarked that he was unable to see Sanjana for even a moment—he could only see Sakshi. As an actor, that’s really just the best compliment because the entire endeavour is to try to shed every aspect of who you are and just show another person.”
The actress goes on to say that she is greatly impacted by movie critiques. Are they absent or present? Let’s investigate. Following her big break in the Dil Bechara film, the actress said, “I guess I’d be lying if I said that I’m unaffected by criticism. I still don’t have a thick skin to merely be indifferent to anything, good or bad. Furthermore, I think it’s beneficial to have an emotional response. I therefore feel valued, acknowledged, and validated for the effort I’ve put into developing that specific character when I read nice evaluations. I always find it fascinating to see many perspectives on the same performance, and I don’t mind frank, unbiased, and critical evaluations.” However, “It’s quite easy to identify whether there’s a hidden agenda involved. It takes wisdom to overlook things and keep them from breaking your heart. That’s really where I’m at right now. Fortunately, Kadak Singh and my character have received a lot of praise from critics and fans alike, which is always wonderful for an actor.”
Anything you would have changed for the movie in retrospect. Is it your performance, the scene, or the plot? “As an actor, I will always say yes; art is subjective,” shot back the actress. “I’m extremely hard on myself with that. I have high expectations for myself and am rarely satisfied with my work. I constantly think I could have done better, or there could have been more. After viewing a scene, I have five ideas about how you could have handled a specific situation or delivered a specific phrase. However, that’s a normal process. I hope that I will constantly carry that out.”
As an actress, she also holds the following beliefs: “I think it’s important for me to keep moving forward and not get comfortable because eventually I want to look back on my career and recognise how much each project has grown. When I look at myself now, post-Kadak Singh, I can already see many things that, with the benefit of time and experience, I would manage differently when I return to Kizie Basu in a few years. This ongoing development represents strength to me. I’ve had the chance to see Kadak Singh several times at different premieres in different places, and every time I see him, it makes me wonder ‘what-ifs’.”
Her takeaway from the year-long preparation and filming of Kadak Singh is that it served as a timely reminder of her life’s lesson— ‘the process is the price.’ It has honestly been one of her most enjoyable, engaging, and beneficial filmmaking experiences. In our exclusive interview, she also says, “I felt completely focused, creatively energised, and just had one of the best times with everyone on our cast and crew.” She continues with the same depth. “Apart from the personal lessons of pushing myself creatively and letting go of any acting conceit, that’s truly been my biggest takeaway. I’ve also taken advantage of this opportunity to train and study more and to delve further into the discipline of acting.”
We were really interested in learning about any intentions for a sequel. “This is a pertinent question for our producers,” she responds. “Do I want to investigate it? Completely. Sakshi doesn’t seem like it’s over with me. There seems to be so much more to her narrative, in my opinion. I firmly believe that we engage in this practice as actors in preparation; for my part, I develop a before and after for each character I portray because Sakshi still has a lot of unexplored adventures and emotions to experience. And I would be thrilled to do it if given the chance. I’m going to take this opportunity to bring about a sequel. Our producer, Tony, and our director have been whispering about it. And let’s hope it does,” the actress ends the interview with a hinting remark.
Writers and filmmakers continue to use the Rashomon effect in thrillers to maintain audience interest. Additionally, Sanjana Sanghi unveiled a multi-layered social thriller and unveiled a relevant, well-intentioned, but generally a case file that is examined from multiple angles. Kadak Singh, streaming on Zee 5 for the most part, seems like a well-meaning parenting, marital, and mental health lesson wrapped around a serious white-collar crime. And it’s bringing the lead actress a lot of success!
The Rockstar fame discussed this cult success in an exclusive interview with The Pioneer, saying, “It has been extremely generous on that front, and it’s tough to pick one. However, I must admit that after the IFFI screening, Pankaj sir made a comment that truly stuck with me. He informed me that it’s my best work to date and that he particularly liked the restraint he saw in my performances. The other greatest compliment, I believe, came from my grandfather, my Nana, with whom I am very close, who attended our Delhi premiere and remarked that he was unable to see Sanjana for even a moment—he could only see Sakshi. As an actor, that’s really just the best compliment because the entire endeavour is to try to shed every aspect of who you are and just show another person.”
The actress goes on to say that she is greatly impacted by movie critiques. Are they absent or present? Let’s investigate. Following her big break in the Dil Bechara film, the actress said, “I guess I’d be lying if I said that I’m unaffected by criticism. I still don’t have a thick skin to merely be indifferent to anything, good or bad. Furthermore, I think it’s beneficial to have an emotional response. I therefore feel valued, acknowledged, and validated for the effort I’ve put into developing that specific character when I read nice evaluations. I always find it fascinating to see many perspectives on the same performance, and I don’t mind frank, unbiased, and critical evaluations.” However, “It’s quite easy to identify whether there’s a hidden agenda involved. It takes wisdom to overlook things and keep them from breaking your heart. That’s really where I’m at right now. Fortunately, Kadak Singh and my character have received a lot of praise from critics and fans alike, which is always wonderful for an actor.”
Anything you would have changed for the movie in retrospect. Is it your performance, the scene, or the plot? “As an actor, I will always say yes; art is subjective,” shot back the actress. “I’m extremely hard on myself with that. I have high expectations for myself and am rarely satisfied with my work. I constantly think I could have done better, or there could have been more. After viewing a scene, I have five ideas about how you could have handled a specific situation or delivered a specific phrase. However, that’s a normal process. I hope that I will constantly carry that out.”
As an actress, she also holds the following beliefs: “I think it’s important for me to keep moving forward and not get comfortable because eventually I want to look back on my career and recognise how much each project has grown. When I look at myself now, post-Kadak Singh, I can already see many things that, with the benefit of time and experience, I would manage differently when I return to Kizie Basu in a few years. This ongoing development represents strength to me. I’ve had the chance to see Kadak Singh several times at different premieres in different places, and every time I see him, it makes me wonder ‘what-ifs’.”
Her takeaway from the year-long preparation and filming of Kadak Singh is that it served as a timely reminder of her life’s lesson— ‘the process is the price.’ It has honestly been one of her most enjoyable, engaging, and beneficial filmmaking experiences. In our exclusive interview, she also says, “I felt completely focused, creatively energised, and just had one of the best times with everyone on our cast and crew.” She continues with the same depth. “Apart from the personal lessons of pushing myself creatively and letting go of any acting conceit, that’s truly been my biggest takeaway. I’ve also taken advantage of this opportunity to train and study more and to delve further into the discipline of acting.”
We were really interested in learning about any intentions for a sequel. “This is a pertinent question for our producers,” she responds. “Do I want to investigate it? Completely. Sakshi doesn’t seem like it’s over with me. There seems to be so much more to her narrative, in my opinion. I firmly believe that we engage in this practice as actors in preparation; for my part, I develop a before and after for each character I portray because Sakshi still has a lot of unexplored adventures and emotions to experience. And I would be thrilled to do it if given the chance. I’m going to take this opportunity to bring about a sequel. Our producer, Tony, and our director have been whispering about it. And let’s hope it does,” the actress ends the interview with a hinting remark.
