Pandemic has helped me get more innovative with work: Shruti Haasan

Musician-actor Shruti Haasan talks to us from her Mumbai home about the onset of a busy year. “Currently, I have a Hindi show for Amazon and Salaar with Prabhas. I need to complete my current commitments before I decide on my next projects,” she begins. On working in a pan-Indian film like Salaar, Shruti says, “I have only shot a minor chunk of my portion so far. Prior to this, I knew Prabhas socially. He is a humble person and carries a lot of positivity in him. So does the director of the film Prashanth Neel. Overall, it has been a great feeling to be a part of Salaar.” 

Having worked with international musicians and actors across the US and UK, what does it mean for Shruti when she hears the term pan-Indian film? “To me, pan-Indian film means a film that is able to cross the barriers within the parameters of the country. We do have pan-Indian artists like Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal singing in multiple languages. Also, numerous female actors who have worked across the country. It is just that the vocabulary is being put into good use of late. I see it as a matter of pride for Indian actors. Culturally, we are divided by languages and this pan-Indian term brings in a lot of positivity to art and entertainment industries,” she replies. 

Pictures of Shruti dubbing from her home sauna went viral a few days ago. She smiles as we mention it and says, “I have done a few singing takes from my sauna before this. It acts as a good vocal booth because it cuts off all the sound. It was a tough dub but it was interesting. Sometimes, it is good to work from home considering the situation outside.” 

While several artistes have been propounding that cinema is the only industry that doesn’t have the work-from-home privilege, Shruti says musicians can afford to. “Musicians have the time to experiment and collaborate because even before the pandemic that is how we jammed with people in the US and UK as we can’t always travel. Musicians were a step ahead. COVID has helped us to be more innovative in the pursuit of greatness,” she adds. 

The actor also was a part of the McKenzie Makeup Challenge and her goth look won a lot of laurels across the globe on the internet. Be it music, films or fashion Shruti has been an ambassador of bringing in western influences and subcultures to the Indian audience. “These are my natural tastes. Papa (Kamal Haasan) and Michael Westmore were great friends and collaborators with Indian, Avvai Shanmughi, and Dasavatharam. The goodwill has passed on to the next generation as well. Michael’s daughter Mckenzie and I found it to be a fun process and we also have a similar approach to life. When she told me about the goth theme I was happy to be a part of it. The theme is an extension to my music.” 

Shruti usually keeps herself busy shuttling between London-Los Angeles-Mumbai-Chennai-Hyderabad. However, she feels this isn’t a time to complain about being unable to travel. “Though I miss traveling abroad or even to my movie sets and meeting people, now is the time to be responsible to stay home and stay safe,” she concludes.