Adah Sharma Says Her 'Dreams Were Dead' Before The Kerala Story: 'The Wait Killed...' | Exclusive

On May 5, The Kerala Story hit the big screens and even a month after its release, there’s no sign of it slowing down. Braving controversies, calls for bans and several other releases, it continues to stand tall. All set to touch the Rs 250 crore mark, it has become the second highest grossing Hindi film of 2023 after superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan. The success of The Kerala Story has also made its leading lady Adah Sharma Bollywood’s highest grossing female actor for a woman-led film, beating Alia Bhatt whose Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) previously held the record.

As the film completes a month at theaters across the country and continues its golden run, we recall an exclusive chat with Adah, who told us that she finally feels ‘validated’ in a career spanning 15 years. “With The Kerala Story, for the first time, I got the opportunity to do so much. It’s great when somebody trusts you with a role like this and now, I’ve made space in the hearts of the audience,” she said.

But she has no complaints from the audience as she feels she has always had them supporting her throughout the course of her career. “Finally, it is their decision but, of course, you’ve to give them something. I have always had the audience rooting for me since my first film, 1920 (2008). They used to always wait [for me to achieve big] and say, ‘Adah, why are you doing a role like this!’ Finally, I got something to give them back with and I’m so happy,” Adah said.

Does she feel that filmmakers will now place greater trust in her to shoulder films completely on her own? “I don’t know whether they will put their faith in me to headline solo heroine projects. That isn’t in my control. But I’m confident that the place I’ve made in people’s hearts will be there for a very long time. I can talk about the audience because I can see that happening. But as far as how many people will give me a chance in terms of a good film or role after The Kerala Story, I don’t know that,” she candidly stated.

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The Hasee Toh Phasee (2014) and Commando 3 (2019) actor added, “But what has happened is magical. The way people have accepted the film feels so good. I’m the face of the film and now that it has become the number one female-led film of all times, feels incredible.”

Adah, however, revealed that waiting for a big commercial hit to happen took a toll on her. Speaking about it, she shared, “The wait has killed so much in me. A lot of parts of me are probably dead now. I was waiting for I don’t know what and I didn’t know if that would ever even come to me, in terms of a role. My dreams were all dead. I never had a dream that this would ever happen.”

Looking back at the beginning of her career, the 31-year-old said that the success of her first film gave her a lot of confidence but that didn’t translate to bigger things. “When I did 1920, I came with stars in my eyes and a lot of dreams. I thought that since my performance in my debut movie was being appreciated, the movie did well, the critics were raving about it and the audiences were loving it, I thought everything would fall into place. But then it didn’t,” she remarked.

So, as of now, she’s making sure that her expectations don’t get the better of her. For Adah, the idea is to stay level-headed and keep working hard. “My dreams have been very small. I will continue doing what I do, which I’ve been doing anyway. If things have to happen, they will. How did The Kerala Story happen? I never planned for a film like this to happen. Once you give me the project and tell me this is the role, that’s where my forte lies. I know what to do with the role and I can tell the director that these are things that I can do and the emotions I can play with. But if you ask me how to get a film, I’ve no clue on that (laughs),” says the actor, who will next be seen in The Game Of Girgit inspired by the infamous Blue Whale challenge. ​