SRK 's all charm, he is special: Anushka Sharma

It’s amazing, she was a toddler when Shah Rukh Khan made his Bollywood debut with Deewana; but today, leggy Bangalore model Anushka Sharma is his heroine in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and all of India is talking about her.

She is the second heroine Bangalore has given King Khan after Deepika Padukone. And, like Deepika, she has not used modelling as a stepping stone to Bollywood. “I couldn’t get more lucky,” Anushka admitted to BT. “Shah Rukh is equal to charm, he is special.” Which increased the responsibility on her to deliver an outstanding performance given the banner and hero “were larger than life”. Happily, everybody is proud of Anushka. “My friends went crazy when they heard I was going to act with Shah Rukh,” she giggled. “Every day during the shooting, they would bombard me with messages for him. It was embarrassing but also funny. He was game, though, and very sweet about this.”

And she took back a lot from her hero, as well, to her friends. “His beliefs, his principles, are something I am struck by and would carry to my friends. It’s important for youngsters like us to know what constitutes personal and professional success. Shah Rukh is truly a youth icon,” said the 19-year-old. She will never get over their first meeting. “It was on the sets, he was in his terrycot pants and spectacles as Surinder Suri. This was not the cool yuppie, the stylish Shah Rukh I was used to seeing on screen. I didn’t recognise him at first and then couldn’t take my eyes off him. But he sensed my discomfort and immediately put me at ease,” she revealed. She talked about her own sex appeal.

“It’s not standard, but I am comfortable with it,” she said. Which doesn’t mean she will get bold in Bollywood. “Everything is script centric today, I will consider the role, script, director and banner before I decide such things,” the debutante said. At 5 feet 9 inches, Anushka is aware that tall actresses don’t get far in Bollywood, so how does she hope to stand out among the new lot of gorgeous and talented actresses in the industry today? “Well, the current lot of actors are tall,” she said hopefully, “and for the rest, I can only be myself — honest, focussed and determined.”