'Kangana Ranaut Will Never Make You Feel Like An Inferior': Tejas Actress Anshul Chauhan

Actress Anshul Chauhan, who was recently seen in the film Tejas speaks exclusively to The Free Press Journal about being an outsider in the entertainment industry, sharing screen space with Kangana Ranaut, and more. It took eight years for Anshul to get a big break on the film front. Recalling how she got on board for Tejas, the actress shares, “It was during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown. I auditioned for it from my home despite being diagnosed with coronavirus. I had to do it 3-4 times followed by virtual meetings with the director.”

Speaking about her experience of shooting with Kangana, Anshul states, “There are many preconceived notions about her but when I went on set I saw something totally the opposite of it. I was like why are people saying such things because she can pretend for a day or two but for almost one year I did not even see a glimpse of bad behaviour or what people said or what I heard. She's so professional. There's so much to learn from her. She's a brilliant actress, there's no doubt about that.”

She adds, “Kangana used to come prepared on set and so disciplined. All her lines were prepared by her and she had intelligent suggestions to give. She's so collaborative that she will never make you feel like an inferior and in fact if you're facing some problem she will be the first one to make you comfortable. She's a giver and that's just incredible. I had a lot of fun shooting with her.”

Anshul will next be seen in Animal and Chakda Express. Despite the films allowing her to be on the big screen, Anshul believes that the process to get here has been extremely long, tiring, and exhausting. She maintains, “I've been in Mumbai for 8 years and to be very honest I still don't think that I've reached near to where I want to be acting-wise. I've not even entered the core of this industry because there's a lot of resistance that I feel for people like me who don't come from a certain background or have many contacts. Things do happen but the speed of it is very slow. It takes decades or more. It is extremely tiring. After even proving your talent you can never be sure you'll get more work. I don't have any plans for the future because everything is dependent on the makers in this industry. I think I have to just give it more time and wait.”

When asked what keeps her going despite all the hurdles, Anshul says on a parting note, “I was going through reviews and articles of Tejas and I kept on seeing my name on most of them. It was highly rewarding. These are the things I've worked hard for. The self-belief that I had, I finally saw people notice it and although I still don't have any work in my hand right now, I had expected things would change after this film but I'm still waiting. But good reviews keep me motivated to keep going and continue this path.”