Sara Ali Khan has said that the harsh criticism for her Love Aaj Kal trailer hurt her. Talking to film journalist Anupama Chopra, Sara said that while she doesn’t care when people judge her for her weight or fashion choices, it does affect her when they criticise her for her acting skills.
The trailer for Imtiaz Ali’s sequel to Love Aaj Kal was heavily panned online, mostly for Sara’s overacting. Fans were disappointed at Sara for seemingly hamming through a scene. However, Sara says she was actually crying while shooting for the scene.
“I don’t mind being trolled for being fat. I don’t mind if you troll me for wearing a cap. But I am here to act. That is my job. That is my profession. That is serious. So, when I am trolled for that, suddenly, with all the confidence still intact, it is harder for me to sit there and say ignore the trolls. For the first time, it actually kind of hurts. It hit me,” she said.
Talking about the scene, Sara said she knew what her character was feeling in that moment. “We were not allowed to see the monitor. So, I had no idea what it was looking like. I’ve spoken to Imtiaz sir about this and what’s also happened is the fact that I don’t look good in that. When it comes to trolling for overacting, I’ll be honest with you…not only was I acutely aware of what my character had to feel but Imtiaz sir made me feel exactly what Zoe had to feel at in that point of time,” she added.
“That was not a ham shot on our part. I was really crying. I felt like how Zoe would have been feeling at that moment in time. I did what came to me organically at that point in time,” she added.
Sara believes that the viewers expectations from actresses to always look good might be to blame. “It is not a pretty shot. It is the archetype of the heroine ki rote waqt, marte waqt, khate waqt…kuch bhi karo aapko acha lagna chahiye (You should always look good, even when you are crying or eating).”
However, Sara said that she knows that those disappointed in her is also the audience she looks to please with her work. “It’s something that the audiences haven’t like, some of them. And those are the people that I do what I do for. So I think there is only learning to go from here. Here’s hoping there’s parts of the film that they do like and that I can make them happy and entertain them more and more in the future,” she said.
Love Aaj Kal will release on February 14. Sara also has Coolie No.1 with Varun Dhawan and Atrangi Re with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush.