Daisy Shah made her acting debut with Salman Khan in Jai Ho, in 2014. The 34-year-old has since then been seen in films like Hate Story 3 (2015), Ramratan (2017), and most recently, in Race 3. Shah speaks to Guardian 20 about starting out her Bollywood journey as an assistant dancer, and her attitude towards criticism.
Q. Your career in showbiz began as an assistant dancer under the popular choreographer Ganesh Acharya. You are a lead actor now. What would you say about this
transition?
A. It has been a successful journey. It has been amazing and I have learned a lot of things that have helped me grow in a beautiful way. I am blessed to have got this chance to meet some wonderful and warm people in my life, who had faith in me and have been a great support.
Q. Coming from a non-film background, was it difficult for you to grow in the film industry? What were the challenges?
A. It has been difficult but everyone has their own journey. Similarly, I had my journey and I had to do it. As a matter of fact, my journey has just started. I am an introverted person and have been very conscious when it comes to introducing myself to people. So it becomes like a task for me to start a conversation with strangers, but then that’s the art an actor needs to have—to adapt to changes at any given time.
Q. What according to you was the turning point in your career?
A. The biggest turning point in my career was when I became a dancer, because since then I have just grown. It was at that moment of my life that I got introduced to the film industry, and the second most important one was when I was offered my debut film, Jai Ho [2014]. I had never thought that I would become an actor in Bollywood when I was growing up, but it just happened to me, and I welcomed it with open arms.
Q. When did you finally decide to take up acting? And what motivated you to
do so?
A. When I entered the industry, I had kept all the doors open and had not set any dos and don’ts about the industry. When I took up acting as a profession, I had by then completed almost 7-8 years in Bollywood. So venturing into acting was a though decision. If I had ever thought of getting into another field, like business or marketing, I would have taken another 6-7 years to understand that field and another couple of years to reach somewhere. So the right thing was staying in this industry. A lot of people thought I would become a choreographer, but no. I prefer dancing over teaching and then took modelling as the next stage, and eventually took acting as the next big step.
Q. How was your experience of working in the South Indian film industry?
A. The experience was pretty similar [to Bollywood] as both the industries function in the same way. The only difference was the language, which was very alien to me. So it was difficult to understand what people were trying to communicate. The most difficult time was when I was trying to have a conversation with my director or my co-actors and I couldn’t understand what they really meant. Luckily, everything went well and I had an amazing team to work with. Thankfully, they knew Hindi as well. So things became easier for me.
Q. Despite all the success that came to you after Race 3, you were trolled for a dialogue in the movie. How did you take the criticism and deal with trolls?
A. I think it was a good thing as long as it worked in favour of the film or for me. There were a lot of memes made on my dialogue, and that has given me even more recognition in a whole new way. So I am happy with whatever happened. In fact, I have enjoyed every bit of it and have also shared a few of those memes on my social media platforms. It was all fun and play for all of us too.
Q. Your aerial act in Race 3 got a lot of attention and was also loved by the audiences. What sort of preparation went behind it? Also, what is your fitness mantra?
A. There was a lot of preparation that went behind it, and luckily, my aerial teacher, Aditi, gave me an amazing crash course, which helped me in knowing the form well. Initially, I was very scared but as time went by and I trained for it, I got comfortable with it. I kept practicing religiously till I felt I had learned the art well, and thankfully, all my hard work came out so well in the film. My fitness mantra is that you just need to train your mind. People think that if they start gymming today, they will drop kilos in a few days or a week. No, it is a process that you have to be consistent with… When I started working out, I saw no results and then I thought of giving up, but I kept at it, consistently. I was at it all the time. I finally saw results after three years.
Q. How was your experience of touring for Salman Khan’s Dabangg tour. And how do you think such tours help actors to connect with their fans?
A. The tour was amazing and we had a superb time. All the actors on the Dabangg tour got along really well and it was like a family. Luckily, I have been a part of the Dabangg tour from its first show. I would like to thank Adil [Jagmagia] and Sohail Khan’s production to give me the opportunity to be part of this amazing tour. When you go on a long tour like this with many stars, it gives you a lot of time to bond with your colleagues from the industry. We all understand each other a lot better now. I might have a perception about another actor/actress, but after knowing that person and staying with that person for 21 days at a stretch, the perception completely changes. Live shows and performances are a great way to connect with fans as you get an instant reaction. We had nine shows and almost all of them were housefull. So it was an overwhelming feeling. We got a great response from the crowd and they really seemed to have enjoyed our show.
Q. You have worked as a dance assistant to Ganesh Acharya. How was your experience of working with him and what was was your biggest takeaway from that association?
A. When I was an assistant choreographer, I learned a lot, and that is the reason I don’t have camera fear today. A lot of newcomers have a fear of facing the camera but luckily, I did not have that. I was intimidated by my co-actors because doing your debut film with Salman Khan and Tabu is not easy. I was intimidated by my co-actors more than by the camera, and that was my biggest takeaway.
Q. What are your future projects?
A. Right now I am in a very happy space because my last film, Race 3, has got a good response, and I have been getting love for my performance. I want to just enjoy this moment right now and in the meanwhile, I am going through a couple of scripts, but I have not locked anything yet.