‘As a producer, I dont like all actors,’ says Sargun Mehta

Sargun Mehta talks about being a producer. (Photo: Sargun Mehta/Instagram)

Actor-turned-producer Sargun Mehta has always believed in entertaining her audience.

And while she took the unconventional route of Punjabi cinema even before anybody else did, today she has become a celebrated name in the regional industry. She is currently gearing up for her production venture called Jatt Nuu Chudial Takri, also starring Gippy Grewal in the lead role. Sargun plays a ghost in the film and she claims to be a very ‘Disney-like chudail’. Having said that, being a producer has changed Sargun quite a lot. Recently, the actor spoke to Indianexpress.

com about the same and even declared her love for Shah Rukh Khan and how she dreams of working with him someday.
Sharing what she prefers more – being an actor or a producer, Sargun said, “I prefer being an actor any day, I am a producer because I want to act in projects that nobody else would ever offer to me.”

Sargun Mehta who ventured into Punjabi films long before anyone else did, explained why she did so. She shared, “I didn’t have skepticism. I left a lot behind. I had a TV show, a South offer that I left because the Punjabi industry just felt like a calling for me. Everybody told me that I was going from a national medium to regional cinema that was not catering to any audience at that time.

Seven years back when I finished my first film Angrej, and I was supposed to do a second one, I realized that only 5 to 6 films were being made there in a year. You couldn’t get cast in all 6 films, it was a very small medium at that time. Today 70 films are made in a year and we do a business close to Rs 100 crore, that’s how the cinema has seen a jump in 8 years. Today, Angerj is a classic in Punjab, but the national audience doesn’t know about it.”

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When asked why did she not consider a career in Bollywood, Sargun quickly replied, “Who was taking me in Bollywood then? No one came and told me ‘aaja tujhe star banata hu (come I’ll make you a star).’ Today things seem a little closer to actors because there is Instagram, the industry feels 10 steps closer. There are so many options to act, the barriers between regional cinema have diluted, but we didn’t have that. I never wanted to not be a heroine or not do anything important in a film, so I chose to start there.”

Sargun Mehta even spoke about one myth that has changed after becoming a producer and said, “Ab mujhe saare actors acche nahi lagte (Now I don’t like all actors). Earlier I would believe everything that an actor said about a producer being stingy or other things.

There is so much that goes on the other side. Now I am 20 times more careful when dealing with a producer. As an actor I was like that earlier also, I don’t even ask for water. Now when actors make demands, I say in my head you know nothing. As a producer, I don’t like all actors. It’s a very weird thing.”

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Talking about her dream to work with Shah Rukh Khan one day, Sargun shared, “I want to romance him on screen. Every time I see SRK romancing somebody I just close my eyes and think that’s me. I saw Challeya recently and mentally I replaced Nayanthara with myself I do that with every woman he romances.”

Watch Sargun’s interview here:

Sargun concluded by saying that though she is not a very big fan of horror films as such, her latest movie Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri is different. The film releases in theatres on March 15.