Jawan actor Sanjeeta Bhattacharya on Women's Day, music and her Bengali debut
“Women’s Day is just a date to commemorate the importance of it, but every day is a girl’s day for me. I celebrate women every day and love them every day. But I am glad that there is a date to celebrate female friendship and womanhood because it’s much-needed too,” states rising actor Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, who played the cool and resolute hacker Helena in Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster film, Jawan.
The Delhi girl with roots in Bengal, got noticed in her debut act in Feels Like Ishq, a mushy romantic web anthology on Netflix. This was followed by another convincing performance in the web series Broken News. And now, post Jawan’s success, Sanjeeta is deftly balancing her acting and singing career, straddling between both worlds with equal ease.
The effervescent artist, who’s also an emerging musician, has just come up with Manchala Dil, a single from her collaborative album Women of Now and is currently busy wrapping up the shoot for her debut Bengali film.
Representing a generation of confident and ambitious women who know what they want, Sanjeeta is our cover girl this International Women’s Day. She took some time out of her busy schedule to shoot with Indulge for four chic looks. The poised actress, who’s also a graduate from Berklee College of Music, takes us through her journey as a musician and actor.
Excerpts from the interview.
Tell us about your latest indie collaboration album Women of Now and the single Manchala Dil that was released today.
Women of Now is a collaboration of four artists, Sanjana Devarajan, Utsavi Jha Akanksha Sethi and me. There are five songs in the album and the fifth one is Manchala Dil, composed by Sagar Dhote, where all of us have sung. It’s about love, and female friendship in particular. As a woman you need another woman to empower you and hold you. To thrive in your life you need women and Manchala Dil stands for all that and more.
Did you always want to be a musician?
Yes, I have been passionate about music since I was very little and started taking lessons in Indian classical music from Sunanda Sharma and learnt Kathak from the late Pandit Birju Maharaj since age 5. After training in both art forms for 10 years, I chose music over dance because I could express myself better and felt more connected with music. After graduating from Berklee, I returned in 2016 and started making my own music.
You were also nominated for the Grammy Award…
The nomination for Grammy came when I was a part of Berklee Indian ensemble at college, and honestly, while recording, we never had the intention of winning. It was love for the craft that reflected in our music and it was a complete surprise for all of us.
What kind of music influences you as an artist?
I love exploring all kinds of music including Indian classical music, Afro Beats, R&B, and such stunning singers as Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, and Christina Aguilera. I also draw inspiration from folk music. So, my music has a global flavour to it and is ever evolving.
What does your current playlist comprise?
It’s a crazy amalgamation and begins with Vivaldi and Mozart and goes to Mehdi Hasan and British hip-hop artist Little Simbz and Yebba.
How is the Indian music scape changing?
The emergence of music streaming platforms is a gamechanger, and helps an indie musician to a great extent. You can simply upload the music for the entire world to hear-- all you need is a sound card, a laptop and a mic. It’s an incredible technological boon. But at the same time, the amount of music churning out every single second is insane and there’s a lot of chance to get lost in the maze.
Do you believe girls can be good friends?
Of course! It took a while for us to realise that because our society has conditioned us to think that women are either jealous of each other, or competitive. It’s a very wrong perspective that’s been pushed for ages. There is no competition among women. And more than competition, it’s like ‘If she can do it I too can’, which is a very positive influence that we have on each other.
I have a lot of female friends and two of them are my co-stars from Jawan -- Aaliyah Qureishi and Lehar Khan -- we call ourselves Terrific Three. We all are actors and keep auditioning for the same projects but we are never jealous if one of us bags it.
Any woman you idolise?
I don’t like to idolise people in general because I believe in celebrating and admiring certain qualities of an individual and not the person in totality. I take good things out of different people and make them my own, but I don’t put any one on a pedestal and worship them.
Tell us how Jawan happened?
I was in Kolkata for a gig after Feels Like Ishq released in 2021 and I got the call for an audition. However, I wasn’t told it was an SRK movie. I was a bit casual and said I was not in Mumbai. They asked me to drop in if I returned any time soon and coincidentally, I got a gig in Mumbai the following week. So, I auditioned and only after I got selected, I was told it was a Shah Rukh Khan movie.
How is Shah Rukh as a person?
He is spontaneous, witty, charming, and all that's true, but he is an incredibly kind human and that’s what makes him a great artiste. He gave me my first playback in Jawan.
Really? Tell us the back story?
His manager Pooja Dadlani told SRK that I am a musician and one fine day he brought a guitar and a mic on set and asked me to sing. I sang a Spanish song and that’s when he and Atlee decided to use my voice for the Spanish song Mis Chicas.
To hear someone out and to seek out talent and give someone opportunity is a great quality. An artist doing that for another artist is how a community is built and SRK is an epitome of doing that.
Now you are all set for your debut in Bengali films…
The film is yet to get a title. It revolves around my character, who comes to the city of joy, and how her experiences change her life.
There’s also Adbhut with Nawazuddin Siddiqui?
I am not a method actor and never took any workshop or theatre lessons. I am not even sure if I would do that in future too, because someone told me that if you are acting while you are acting, then you are not acting.
I believe you need to let yourself go and need to become the character. I am a spontaneous actor and I learn on the job from my seniors and technicians by observing them intensely.
Web series Broken News too will have a second season. How has your role developed?
In the first season, I played Juhi Shergill, a junior reporter who dodges work and is a little entitled being the daughter of one of the trustees. So, she’s having fun and doesn’t like doing the job, though she has immense respect for Ameen, played by Sonali Bendre.
But in the second season, the character goes through positive changes and really makes a difference. Also, she no longer avoids work.
What do you like being more-- a singer or an actor?
I would always be a singer first. While acting is a new found love, music is my heart and soul. I want to balance both.
Any other upcoming projects?
I have playbacked for the first time in a Telugu film Chaari 111, which released last week and I have also sung for a Malayalam film. I also signed for a period drama, Freedom At Midnight, for Sony LIV and will be playing a very important character from India’s recent history.
CREDITS: Pics: Debarshi Sarkar / Styling: Poulami Gupta /Makeup Bhaskar Biswas / Hair: Sontai Shaw / Outfits: Ambika Lal, Suravika S / Jewellery: Runway Hit / Location courtesy: ITC Sonar
FASHION CHOICES
I like to dress for comfort and according to my body shape. I love anti-fit clothes and handmade, flowy, organic recycled clothing. I am a fan of vintage clothing too, and how I dress up depends on my mood.
Lately, I am hooked on browns and beiges and white shoes and I complete the look with cappuccino makeup. Earthy tones of browns are what I love nowadays and I like empowering small and emerging homegrown labels.
For occasions, it’s always saris with backless or strappy blouses.