Sonakshi Sinha is currently basking in all the love coming her way for her performance as a police officer in the Amazon Prime Video web series Dahaad. The role, which is a stark departure from her early work in Bollywood, has placed the spotlight on the evolution of Sonakshi Sinha's choices as an artist. Speaking to Film Companion as part of the show's promotion, Sonakshi Sinha was asked about one of her previous films Rowdy Rathore. The 2012 commercial potboiler has a scene in which the hero of the film, played by Akshay Kumar's character, holds Sonakshi Sinha by her waist and declares, "Ye mera maal hai (This is my property)".
Speaking about the objectifying nature of the dialogue, Sonakshi Sinha admitted candidly that she would not feature in such scenes today. The actress said, “Today where I stand, I would never do something like that. I was so young at that point in time that I was not thinking in this direction. For me, it was a fact that I am doing a film with Prabhu Deva. I am doing a film with Akshay Kumar, oh my god – who would say no to something like that? Sanjay Leela Bhansali was producing it. Why would I say no? At that time, my thinking was very very different. Today, if I would read a scene like that, I would not do it. I have garnered enough experience. I have matured as a person…Things change with time, and so have I.”
The actress also pointed out that even with such scenes the onus is often placed on the heroine for starring in such roles. The same questions are not asked to writers – who create the dialogues – and directors, Sonakshi pointed out. “People used to always put the blame on me and the woman is always the villain in a situation like that. Nobody spoke about the writer who wrote the lines, nobody spoke about the person who directed the film. I was just like 's**t happens'.”
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In NDTV's review of Dahaad, Saibal Chatterjee wrote, “The performances are marked by restraint and impressive acuity, with Sonakshi Sinha shining in a role that gives her room to convey a gamut of emotions. Vijay Verma stands out as the seemingly meek Hindi professor. Gulshan Devaiah is terrific as the incorruptible police officer. Sohum Shah delivers a flawless performance as the conflicted cop.”
Sharing glimpses of the premiere of the web series, Sonakshi Sinha wrote, “What a day this was. The wait has been so long, but it's going to be worth it. We started shoot in 2020, then the pandemic happened… went back to shoot and successfully finished with loads of obstacles in the way… but we did what we were always set out to do - ROAR. It was really amazing to be reunited with this stellar team for the launch of something that is so special to ALL of us. Bohot hard bohot hard - yeh hai #Dahaad.”
On the work front, Sonakshi Sinha will be seen in Kakuda and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.