Sushmita Sen opens up about her break from Bollywood

The actor is basking in the success of her comeback vehicle Aarya

Sushmita Sen is basking in the success of her comeback vehicle Aarya. The dearth of quality projects is what made her opt for a long hiatus and the actor says she doesn’t regret her decision, despite the highs and lows she faced while waiting, reported Indian Express.

During the virtual launch of Aarya’s original soundtrack, Sen reflected on her sabbatical and how the Ram Madhavani-created series seemed like the perfect comeback. Asked if she was told to not take a break, considering the Hindi film industry is not too kind to artistes who are out of sight, the 44-year-old replied, “I didn’t listen to the people who managed me because we didn’t agree. They thought like you just said ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ and I always thought distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

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The former Miss Universe explained that she was able to stay away from any kind of insecurity that a hiatus could induce because her life was never defined by films. “I didn’t have a very heightened state of insecurity because my life had many other purposes. I wasn’t sitting at home, waiting for a film to come by,” she said.

“I was doing multiple other things with my life, creating brands in various ventures, and I was looking at creative projects and biding my time, saying, ‘It will come’. I haven’t done what I believe I am capable of and I need people to believe in me to bring that out.'”

The actor admitted she lost “a lot of people” during her time away from the screen, but her self-belief stayed stronger than any sense of loss. “It took a while. I lost a lot of people on the way but it was worth it. Every bit of it was worth it. I really think people should stop worrying that your time is gone and just focus on ‘My time hasn’t come yet’. It’s the difference in perception.”

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Heaping lavish praise on the team of Aarya, which - besides Madhavani - also includes co-creator Sandeep Modi and director Vinod Rawat, Sen said that the show not only gave her a creatively satisfying experience but also helped her unlearn everything she had known as an artiste.

“Because no one was offering me Aarya, I needed this to come back. It’s not just the author-backed role, a fantastic team, a platform like Disney+Hotstar… it’s all these directors. Where do you get paid to come and learn and unlearn? I got paid to do that with Aarya. I came back from a hiatus, was taught by all these directors. It takes a lot for an actor to have an opportunity like this one. And it doesn’t come by every day so sometimes, you just have to wait for it.”

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