She is best remembered for playing Preeti Sabhrawal in superhit "Chak De! India" and actress Sagarika Ghatge says she she wasn't "aggressive" enough about her career back then.
The actress had impressed the audience with her performance of a determined hockey player in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, but what followed were films like "Rush" and "Fox", which failed at the box office.
Sagarika will be now seen alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi in "Irada" and the actress is excited, hoping to be more active in her approach towards her work.
"After 'Chak De! India' there was a lot of work that came my way but I was just not into them. I'm not very aggressive as a person, I think as an actor and you need to be a little aggressive," Sagarika told PTI.
"Straight after my films, it is not that I did my PR or anything else. At the end of the day, your work gets recognised but a lot of people thought I didn't want to act."
The actress says she was "too young" during "Chak De" and wasn't sure of how she wanted to go about with her career.
"So, you know there were a lot of dilemmas. That is what happened basically and then obviously there was a lot of time gap and people do forget you. I'm not saying you have to be in the media all the time. I am not somebody who's comfortable always being in the media, I'm in my own space. But I think that didn't work for me."
Asserting that it is not easy to get another film like "Chak De! India" in her career, Sagarika says she still wants to make the most out of what she is offered.
In "Irada", which is an eco-thriller, Sagarika is paired opposite Arshad. The actress says both her co-stars - Arshad and Naseeruddin - were the biggest reasons for her to come on board for the movie.
"For me one reason why I just had to be a part of this film, was the cast which had people like Naseer ji and Arshad because I have immense respect for both of them as actors. I think for actors like me, it is just a great feeling to see those actors perform. You get to learn so much just by seeing them, by watching them."
"Irada", directed by debutant Aparnaa Singh, is scheduled to release on February 17.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
