Taking her pick: Actress Anuritta Jha has huge respect for television actors, but says she is not made for it

Mona

Anuritta Jha’s entry into films is rather filmy. Noticing known filmmaker Anurag Kashyap at a party, she walked up to him and introduced herself. His immediate response was, “Jha to aap kahin se nahi lagti.”

As she praised his craft, he enquired if she could speak Bihari to which she answered ‘very well’. And as luck would have it, Kashyap, who was working on Gangs of Wasseypur at that time, asked Anuritta to audition for it.

“I was happy being a model. After winning Channel V’s Get Gorgeous, I started working in Mumbai but the thought of acting never crossed me. But this chance meeting propelled me into the world of films,” said Anuritta, who had a stopover at Chandigarh after a short break in the hills recently.

Learning curve

Post her surprise debut, Anuritta decided to train in theatre. “Unlike star kids who have exposure and training to become an actor through their environment, it is rather difficult for outsiders like me. Since I enjoyed my first stint as an actor, I decided to learn.”

Projects came her way — Shama Parveen of Gangs of Wasseypur led to Kaamini in Asur 2. She was Mariam Rasheeda in Rocketry. Anuritta was also seen as Kavita in Aashram. “Each of these roles gave me an arc to perform,” she says.

While Anuritta is happy with the big screen and web space, she has deliberately stayed away from television. She sites two reasons — the serials are still regressive and that she is not that hardworking! “Many lead roles in serials have been offered to me by big production houses, but the way these go in our country I don’t see myself learning anything.” Also, she is not ready to put in the tough hours that television demands. “I have huge respect for actors who do TV, it a very strenuous job; I can’t clock in so many hours.”

Honest take

As for her taste as a viewer, its Iranian film director Majid Majidi who is reigning supreme currently. Amongst the shows, it’s The Morning Show that she loved lately. “While OTT in our country has sure opened the door for different projects, it’s still a lot of copy and paste. I loved The Morning Show on Apple TV, but we are yet to make such layered content.”

Amongst her recent projects, her short film Unaccsued is fetching good response in festival circuits. And she would next be seen in web series AK47. “Based in Bihar, it is woven around crime and politics,” shares Anuritta.

Happy to have found her calling, Anuritta insists it’s a tough line to survive in. “There is lots of lean time in between projects. One needs be self-motivated, and emotionally and financially strong. It’s not an easy task to look gorgeous all the time,” says the actor.

Playing favourites

Film: Children of Heaven — I love its simplicity; Majid Majidi captures the innocence of children sans any drama.

Song: AR Rahman’s Kun Faaya Kun. It’s so calming and the lyrics immediately render one egoless.

Book: Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi. This book changed my life.

Food: I love chowmein. Growing up on it in Patna through school days, it has stayed my favourite.