In a recent press meet, the versatile Anasua Chowdhary talks about her amazon prime show Waack Girls, Karan Johar, dance, acting & much more...
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00:00It has been a journey, both choreographing and acting, but in general I'm a person, I'm a creative person.
00:07So I love being on screen, I love being off screen, I love writing.
00:12So I just love being in the creative field.
00:16In Bombay, the first person who properly pronounced my name is Karan Johar.
00:23I came to India's Got Talent in the first reality show I had done.
00:27So Karan Johar said, on a shua, I was like, sir, oh my god, how are you taking my name so properly?
00:34I'm very excited that finally after two years it has released.
00:39We have worked very hard on this show, all the departments.
00:43I think they did an incredible job and they worked so hard for the show, all the departments.
00:49So I'm very excited that finally it's out there, it's for all of you all to watch it, enjoy it
00:55and give us good feedback because that is all what we want.
01:10So I was a dancer since childhood, I've been dancing since I was three years old.
01:15So dancing is second nature for me, you can see, you can say that.
01:20Or acting is something that happened to me and then I fell in love with it.
01:26So I never thought that I wanted to do acting, but it has been a journey of me
01:32because I come from a classical dance background.
01:35So in that, we perform a lot, there are a lot of Navras, classical poetry in Kathak
01:42in which we have to perform expressions, poetry on stage.
01:47So I think my connection from there started with my acting.
01:52And finally when I got my first show, I just fell in love with camera and acting.
01:59And it has been a journey, both choreographing and acting.
02:03But in general, I'm a person, I'm a creative person.
02:07So I love being on screen, I love being off screen, I love writing.
02:12So I just love being in the creative field.
02:18Wackers.
02:19Yes.
02:23Yes.
02:26So this show is very personal to me because I am a wacker in real life.
02:32And this show is based on the dance style called Wacking.
02:37And also, you know, six different individual lives of women.
02:43How they struggle in their lives, but they all unite together
02:47through this beautiful dance form, Wacking.
02:50So I am a wacker in real life.
02:52I've been doing this dance style for more than a decade now.
02:55So when I was in Calcutta,
02:57when I was in Calcutta, my friend and I used to do this Wacking together.
03:02And we used to tell each other that one day, you know,
03:06a movie will be made on us, shows will be made on us.
03:11And after 10 years, that girl is the lead of the show.
03:16And I am playing her best friend in the show.
03:18And the way I'm talking, I'm getting goosebumps.
03:22Because when we were kids, we used to talk about this very excitedly.
03:26But you can say it's manifestation, it's hard work that we are here today
03:31and we are in the same show.
03:33So that's why this show is very special to me.
03:36If we talk about your overall backstage,
03:38if we talk about your background,
03:40what was the biggest journey overall for you?
03:43Oh, I think I am very blessed and grateful.
03:47I have said this before in interviews that I got the best of all the worlds in this show.
03:54Be it working with the cast, the crew, the director,
03:58everyone is just, it was such a beautiful journey for me.
04:02It was a very good experience.
04:05Usually what happens with girls,
04:07how people are very generalised,
04:09that I don't know if girls will get along or not.
04:12But my journey was very beautiful in this show.
04:16Because I have learnt so much from every actor.
04:21And I was trying to see how they perform.
04:24Because I think this comes from my dancing background.
04:27When I'm in class, I observe each and every dancer,
04:30how they dance.
04:32And I try to take that from them and get inspired by them.
04:35Same thing happened with me on the set.
04:37Because we have such good actors on the set.
04:39And even the way, because I work behind the camera also,
04:43behind the screen also,
04:44so I was observing how my director,
04:46Suni Tarapulwala is working as a director.
04:50And how all the departments are just in sync.
04:53So it has been the best experience of my life, honestly.
04:56Your name was mentioned at my last show.
04:59Am I right?
05:00No.
05:02It's Anushua.
05:03Did you have such problems?
05:04Yes.
05:05A lot of problems.
05:07But let me tell you this very interesting fact.
05:10In Bombay,
05:11the first person who properly pronounced my name,
05:16is Karan Johar.
05:17Wow.
05:18I'm not even kidding and I was so impressed.
05:20This is I think in 2014.
05:22When I came to India's Got Talent,
05:24in the first reality show I had done.
05:27So Karan Johar said,
05:28Anushua.
05:29I was like,
05:30Sir?
05:31How are you taking my name so properly?
05:34Because that is my pronunciation.
05:36So I was very impressed.
05:37But yeah,
05:38the name comes from,
05:41I think my grandmother had given me this name.
05:44And she is Shakuntala's best friend.
05:47I think it came from her.
05:48We are taking part right now in Dev Namaste.
05:51Yes.
05:52If we talk about that journey,
05:54how was it?
05:56If I ask you,
05:59How many fond memories can you share?
06:01Oh my God.
06:03I think it's been 10 years.
06:0510 years.
06:06It's been too long.
06:08And too many fond memories.
06:10I think that was my first show.
06:12So I learnt a lot in that show as an actor.
06:15So many things I've learnt.
06:17And it is always going to be very special
06:21and very close to my heart.
06:22Because that's where my acting started.
06:24And you know,
06:26the people who believed in me,
06:28Amita ma'am,
06:30who gave me this opportunity to play Huma.
06:34It's always, you know,
06:35the first things that happen to you in your life
06:37is always a cold memory and special to you.
06:40So it's like she believed in me
06:42and I can never forget that.
06:44And I'm always, always grateful.
06:46And fond memories, I think,
06:48when we used to do dance sequences,
06:50we used to rehearse together,
06:52it was so much fun.
06:53And my co-actor, Jason Tham,
06:56it was his first show as well.
06:58So it's like both of us are trying to act
07:00for the first time.
07:02And when we used to revise lines,
07:04so you know how it is,
07:06we used to fumble, forget,
07:08we used to laugh about it also.
07:10And then we were like, it's okay, we'll do it.
07:12I think there were a lot of instances like that
07:14which are very funny
07:16and which are very memorable.
07:18As an actor or as a dancer,
07:20as a choreographer
07:22or as an actor,
07:24how different and challenging is acting
07:26as an actor and a choreographer?
07:28So,
07:30I think,
07:34I think it's difficult
07:36in both the, you know,
07:38in both the categories because
07:40acting is something that
07:42you have to pour yourself
07:44into it completely.
07:46Like, as time goes by
07:48and as I'm honing the skill,
07:50I am getting to know
07:53how many under layers are there
07:55in this field, in this craft.
07:57It's like a craft and
07:59you have to work on it every day.
08:01Every day.
08:03It's just like any other skill.
08:05So there's a lot of study, a lot of practice
08:07in this skill. So there's a lot of hard work
08:09required for characterization,
08:11for knowing the backstory,
08:13for building your backstory.
08:15There's a lot in that also.
08:17And when it comes to choreography,
08:19I think that is also very difficult
08:21because you have to understand a lot
08:23in that also.
08:25First, it's basic,
08:27giving all the steps and
08:29choreographing the dance part of it.
08:31And apart from that,
08:33you also have to know as a choreographer,
08:35you have to know the backstory,
08:37the emotion of the actors
08:39and then teaching the actors,
08:41making sure your actors are comfortable,
08:43making sure that you are in the middle,
08:45conveying the message
08:47to the actors, to the director,
08:49to the producer. So basically,
08:51as a choreographer, you are in the middle of everything.
08:53You are handling 50,000
08:55dancers on set and
08:57you have to be the boss lady.
08:59And I love being that.
09:01Recently you did a song called
09:03Kamli Naam Piya.
09:05Kamli Naam Piya.
09:07Kamli Naam Piya.
09:09Yes.
09:11So how challenging was that?
09:13I liked that song.
09:15That song was more dark.
09:17Yes, yes, yes.
09:19So, Kukki Gulati,
09:21who is the director of Vispot,
09:23he had given me this opportunity
09:25to choreograph
09:27for this film and I think
09:29it was one of a kind
09:31experience for me and I am so happy
09:33and grateful to him that he gave me this opportunity.
09:35That is the only song
09:37in the film and it was
09:39challenging for me because
09:41this song comes when the movie
09:43climaxes. So,
09:45as a choreographer, I need to know
09:47what is happening in the film as well.
09:49So, there is shootout happening and in the middle
09:51of it, you are seeing the singer
09:53on the stage with the dancers, a concert
09:55happening. So, it's
09:57all rushed, rushed.
09:59There is fast-paced happening.
10:01So, I had to understand the mood of the song
10:03because accordingly, I had
10:05choreographed the song and
10:07make it fast-paced, make it
10:09very dynamic.
10:11So, all these things were very
10:13memorable for me because we were
10:15shooting the song as well as the climax.
10:17So, it was a lot of
10:19learning experience for me as well.
10:21So, it was very, very fun.
10:39No, not at all.
10:41It's the opposite.
10:43Like I said earlier, all the actors
10:45on our set, they were so supportive
10:47and they were so nice
10:49and we were all very nice to each other.
10:51So, when the show
10:53actually started, before that
10:55yes, for sure,
10:57they were a little scared.
10:59Four of us are dancers
11:01you can say in the
11:03show. All of them are dancers
11:05actually because anybody can dance.
11:07So, everyone is a dancer in the
11:09show but this particular dance style
11:11Wacking needs a lot of training.
11:13So, when we started the shoot
11:15before that, we did some
11:17training as well. So, in that
11:19they got comfortable
11:21with it and me and
11:23Mikhola, who are already
11:25Wackers, we made sure that
11:27they are okay, they are comfortable
11:29and we are all in this together.
11:31There is nothing like someone is doing more
11:33than the other. Because in the
11:35beauty of the show is
11:37we talk about how Wacking started
11:39and you know Ishani, who is the character
11:41she teaches LP
11:43and Tess and Anumita
11:45and Mijke how Wacking
11:47is done. So, we learn the dance
11:49style in the show. So, that was
11:51not big of a challenge because we are learning
11:53and we have
11:55Suni Tarapurwala as a director, she is absolutely
11:57brilliant. The way she has shot
11:59the show and the way she has shot the
12:01dance sequences. You will see how
12:03raw it is. We are making mistakes
12:05we are falling, we are doing
12:07good, we are doing bad
12:09because that is how life is
12:11and that is how in real
12:13dancers are, you know.
12:15So, I think it's been portrayed very beautifully.
12:17What would you like to say about your show?
12:19I would like to say
12:21about my show that it's a
12:23very, very beautiful, light-hearted
12:25comedy show and it's about
12:27women empowerment and how women come
12:29together. The unique part about
12:31the show is you will learn so much
12:33about the culture, about Wacking.
12:35It's a very new thing that's
12:37happening, I think, in the country and
12:39let me tell you, it's a historic
12:41moment for all of
12:43us because there has never been a show
12:45on Wacking in the world.
12:47So, it's a historic moment for India.
12:49So, I support and I urge
12:51all of you to go and watch our show.
12:53Give us love and you will
12:55not regret it. You will binge watch it.
12:57So, yeah. Thank you.