Adah Sharma: A Decade of Ignoring Industry Perceptions to Focus on Acting
After spending more than a decade in the competitive world of Bollywood, actress Adah Sharma has developed a clear philosophy: she tunes out how others see her, focusing solely on her own acting conviction. In a candid interview, she opened up about the stark differences between industry perceptions and her self-view as an actor.
Shutting Out External Noise
Adah Sharma stated bluntly: "To be honest, I don't look at how anyone else perceives me. That is their thing because that changes all the time." She provided a telling example from her recent experience with the film Kerala Story, noting how people's attitudes toward her shifted dramatically based on the movie's box office collections.
"I've seen people who, just before Kerala Story, the way they talk to me or perceive me will change as soon as you hear the collections," she explained. This volatility in external opinions has reinforced her decision to base her self-perception on internal measures rather than external validation.
A Philosophy Forged Early
This mindset isn't new for Sharma. She traced it back to her career beginnings, specifically her decision to star in 1920 as her first film despite widespread industry advice to the contrary.
"My decision to do 1920 as my first film came despite everyone telling me to do a film where I'm pretty and where I don't look ugly," she recalled. "That was their perception of me. My perception is that I'm a damn good actor."
The Audience Connection
Sharma firmly believes that audiences connect with honest performances rather than superficial attributes. "The audience will connect with my performance," she asserted. "If I give an honest performance, they are not going to hold me up for being ugly. They will never say that if it's a good performance."
This conviction allows her to remain unfazed by industry chatter about appearance or typecasting. "I will never really care about that," she declared. "So I follow that."
The Danger of External Validation
The actress warned against the pitfalls of becoming too concerned with others' opinions. "I think for an actor, getting into what other people perceive you as, what somebody else thinks of you—I think all those are very limiting things," she cautioned.
She explained how this external focus can directly impact performance quality: "They come in the way of your performance then as an actor in that character, and then you mess up."
For Adah Sharma, a successful decade in Bollywood has been built not on chasing industry approval but on maintaining artistic integrity and trusting that genuine performances will resonate with audiences far more than fleeting perceptions ever could.
