Nushrat Bharucha of “Pyaar Ka Punchnama” fame says that she was one of the shortlisted actresses for the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire”. She says her on-screen image is stuck under the limited vision of filmmakers.

She has often been seen playing the “nagging girlfriend” on the big screen. Asked why she is not experimenting enough to grow as an actress, Nushrat told IANS here: “I think my image is stuck in other people’s perception. I was one of the shortlisted girls for the female lead of the Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ along with Freida Pinto.”

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“But I was not finalised because of my looks. (Director) Danny Boyle’s team sat me down and explained that I do not look like a girl coming from slum area. I was told that I am a damn good actor and everything is perfect except the fact that my look doesn’t fit the character.”

That wasn’t the last time for her.

“It happened to me later also. Casting directors said that I look like an urban girl with sharp features. Maybe that is true, but we are living at a time where a lot of advanced make-up techniques are available,” she said.

“How come people are convinced to see the same Shraddha Kapoor as the rich Riya Somani and Haseena Parkar — the sister of an underworld don? (This is) Because she is a star, who has achieved mass popularity, and directors are ready to experiment with her. I haven’t achieved stardom,” said Nushrat.

Still, she has managed to deliver commercially successful films like “Love Sex Aur Dhokha”, “Pyaar Ka Punchnama” and “Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2”. Her latest release “Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety” is also getting a good response from the audience.

What’s stopping her from getting mass appreciation?

“I think people love to watch me on screen, not my acting talent. With PKP (‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’), I did not own the film. Among the six actors in the film, Kartik (Aaryan) was the most noticed actor and he stood out.

“I was not bad in the film. People noticed me as well, but I was not defining the brand of the film. I was adding a value to that. So, at red carpets and award ceremonies, people said, ‘She is the Panchnama girl’, without even knowing my name properly,” replied Nushrat.