We did work in DTPH that was not seen before in Hindi films," she says. "It was a film reflecting a lifestyle in modern America, so we borrowed their style of architecture, clothes, vocabulary. It was a contemporary film, though the emotions were Indian. We did not use Indian architecture. It (the setting) was very hard, at times, cold, borrowing from the American lifestyle."
"The film worked because of the emotions; my work got accepted because we were consistently unreal in the film," she says. "We made people believe in a world for a couple of hours. So even though Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which released much before, was a big success, my work did not get recognised."
Sharmishtha has been a part of all of Karan Johar's movies, and the two are obviously very close because they often look back on their films and rib each other's work. "There are things we may not appreciate today. I look back on some of my sets, and I am like, 'Oh that was a horrible set,' " she laughs.
And there have been quite a few "horrible" sets, she admits. "Like Duplicate," she says. "There are plenty of films I wish I had not done. Sometimes I switch off the television because it gets embarrassing!"
Image: Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan in Dil Toh Pagal Hai
Also read: Special: Shooting with SRK and Rani
Advertisement
