Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Mrunal Thakur opened up about her love for Shah Rukh Khan and how his on-screen characters have shaped her expectations of romance. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, the actor joked about how the superstar has set the bar rather high when it comes to romance. She also spoke about growing up on Bollywood love stories and how her film Pooja Meri Jaan has made her look at relationships differently.
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Shah Rukh Khan has been setting romantic standards for generations, and Mrunal Thakur is among those who have grown up believing in the kind of love his characters bring to the screen.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today, while discussing her latest film Pooja Meri Jaan, Mrunal was asked whether growing up watching Bollywood romances had influenced her own idea of love. Her answer came almost instantly.
“The fact that Shah Rukh Khan is not in my life just breaks my heart. The standards that Shah Rukh sir has set, the benchmark… don’t even get me started. I’m madly in love with Shah Rukh sir. I mean, all the characters that he has played on screen. And I don’t think I’ve yet met a man who is as romantic as Shah Rukh sir,” she said.
The conversation also turned towards how Hindi cinema has influenced people’s understanding of romance over the years. Asked whether Bollywood had knowingly or unknowingly taught audiences some unhealthy ideas about love, she explained, “Yes, most iconic movies, when I re-watched, I was like, ‘what, why’. Also, look, that was a different time. Social media wasn’t there. Now it is. Back then, there were only films, and films were only for entertainment. Now the approach has changed. I’m just happy to be born in this era where, as a woman, I have choices to choose the kind of movies and genres I want to be in.”
She also felt that what audiences take away from a film depends largely on their perspective. “It depends on people, how they look at it as a movie, whether they learn a lesson from it or see it as entertainment. There are also people who don’t change even after watching it. So, it’s about the perspective. It’s about the audience,” she added.
Speaking about Pooja Meri Jaan, Mrunal expressed happiness that the film was available on ZEE5, allowing its message to reach people across cities and villages.
“I’m just happy that this film is out on ZEE5 because it will reach audiences in villages and cities. Not just girls or boys, but people will know that when it’s a no, it’s a no. It doesn’t mean try harder,” she said.
Mrunal Thakur on what healthy love means to her
While Shah Rukh Khan’s characters may have set her romantic expectations, Mrunal admitted that playing Pooja had also influenced her understanding of what a healthy relationship should look like.
“Healthy love looks like communicating. Healthy love looks like, if there are arguments, you call it a day, calm down, and then get back to each other. Because in every relationship, there is an avoidant and an anxious partner,” she explained.
Elaborating on how two people may respond differently to disagreements, she added, “There is somebody who takes time, but the one who is anxious thinks, ‘Why is he ignoring me?’ So that’s an understanding which I think should be the base and foundation of every relationship.”
Mrunal believes that understanding a partner’s need for space is just as important as expressing one’s own emotional needs. “If I know that my partner takes time, I will tell him, ‘You take two days, but after two days, you have to come and talk to me. Otherwise, my mind will keep overthinking.'”
She also spoke about how easily misunderstandings can arise when people begin assuming what their partners are thinking or feeling.
“Sometimes, what happens is that people voice someone else’s thoughts. Like, what I’m thinking, let me speak. Don’t assume this. Because more than half the world is living on assumptions. That maybe this will happen, that’s why he behaved like this with me. No, it doesn’t happen like this,” she said.
‘I talk to my parents more than my friends’
For Mrunal, communication isn’t something that matters only in romantic relationships. The actor believes it is equally important within families, particularly between parents and their children.
“It’s not just about love, but even parenting. Today, at this age, I am so close to my parents because, more than what I talk to my friends, I talk to my parents. Most parents don’t even communicate with their kids, or kids don’t communicate with their family,” she shared.
She continued, “I think the key to any problem is communication. You should just be open to listening to what went wrong.”
Mrunal also admitted that while it is easy to advise people to listen and understand one another, practising it isn’t always simple. She, too, has moments when she gets offended during disagreements.
“I think people get offended. They’re like, ‘I didn’t do this.’ I also get offended sometimes. But consciously, I’m making a choice, trying to keep myself calm and reminding myself to listen to what the other person is saying. And then you will always find a solution. There’s no need to go through an extreme case and ruin our happiness. God has given us one life, and we need to just enjoy it,” she said.
Pooja Meri Jaan is currently streaming on ZEE5.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
