Nushrratt Bharuccha is on cloud nine. She is the only Indian actress to bag a nomination for Best Actress at the Asian Contents Awards by the Busan Film International Festival. She has been nominated for her performance in the Netflix anthology, Ajeeb Daastaans.
In the anthology, the Pyaar Ka Punchnama actress featured in the section Khilauna, which was directed by Raj Mehta and also featured Abhishek Banerjee. This is the first international nomination for Nushrratt, who recently completed a decade in Bollywood.
Sharing her elation at the nomination, Nushrratt said, “Actors generally take up different kinds of projects for various reasons. But when I did Khilauna in Ajeeb Daastaans with director Raj Mehta and co-star Abhishek Banerjee, it was only for myself and the sheer passion I have for the movies and stories. To be nominated on an international platform like the Busan Film International Festival is a sign of recognition in the global area. I am feeling quite privileged to see my name alongside other talented actors from different countries. It not only gives me an adrenaline rush to follow my passion but also makes me feel responsible.”
She is up against the likes of Tsuchiya Tao in 'Alice in Borderland', Song Jia in 'A Little Dilemma', Bae Doo-na in 'Stranger 2' and Lee Si-young in 'Sweet Home'.
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Khilauna was a dark tale about a housemaid (Nushrratt) trying to make life better for her little sister (Inayat Verma). Abhishek plays Sushil, who irons clothes for a living. The anthology was backed by filmmaker Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment.
Speaking about her role and the anthology, the actress says, “The best part of the story was that I was cast alongside Abhishek Banerjee. It was surreal because I have given so many auditions at his casting agency since the beginning of my career. He would enact the scenes with me as my co-actor and give me the necessary feedback. Abhishek was my bouncing board with whom I could share my ideas on how to perform a particular scene and he would also improvise with me. While shooting for Khilauna, I could put in extra effort in my character with his help because I could run my thoughts through him and he would give me an honest feedback.”
Many might not know, but Nushrratt actually started her career on the small screen with Zee TV's popular show, 'Kitty Party', in 2002, before making the switch to movies. After having done smaller roles in movies like Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Kal Kisne Dekha and Jai Santoshi Maa, for Nushrratt her big Bollywood break came in the form of the 2011 romcom, Pyaar Ka Punchnama alongside Kartik Aaryan. It was a turning point in her life and catapulted her on the road to stardom.
“All the actors from the film (Pyaar Ka Punchnama) were not expecting the kind of response it garnered. The film changed our destinies. It also became a great franchise. For me, the character of the controlling and manipulative girlfriend, Neha, is diametrically opposite of what I am in real life and I had to spend some time to understand her motive before enacting her on screen,” Nushrratt added.
Nushrratt says she has always followed her heart. “People close to me and many from the industry were not too pleased with my decision to do Pyaar Ka Punchnama. They wanted me to wait till I was cast in a big-budget film with popular actors. The film had no known faces — a first-time director, a first-time producer and a lot of new faces. But it opened up a world of opportunities for me, and Neha put me on the map. It is destiny, I would say,” she shares.
Nushrratt isn't the only one to earn a nomination at the Busan Film International Festival. On Wednesday, actor Ali Fazal was nominated Best Actor at the Asia Content Awards for his turn as Ipsit Nair in 'Forget Me Not', one of the four films in Netflix's 'Ray' anthology.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Nushrratt will be next seen in the Akshay Kumar-starrer, Ram Setu. Directed by Abhishek Sharma and also featuring Jacqueline Fernandes, the film is slated to release in theatres in Diwali next year. Apart from this she also has Chhorii, Googly and Janhit Mein Jaari in her kitty.
