I want to join Bollywood - Trishala Dutt

Trishala Dutt is the daughter of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and late Richa Sharma. Trishala (a.k.a. Trish) was born and raised in New York and lives with her maternal grandparents.

Asha Ashish© got an exclusive interview with Trishala where she talks about her Bollywood dreams.

Asha Ashish©: What are you up to these days?

Trishala: After obtaining my degree in Criminal Justice, I joined Atlantic Theater Acting School to pursue my passion for acting. I might be joining NY Film Academy as they will be taking students to India for an intensive course on film making (production) but I'm not sure yet. I love working with different people and actually learning method acting as well as film production. I believe if you want to be the best and do justice to yourself, one must understand all aspects of the business that they want to pursue. I don't want anything on a silver platter. I would want to make my standing from hard work as my grandfather (Sunil Dutt) did. I miss him very much and he knew I wanted go into acting. One day I will make him proud.

Asha Ashish©: How was your growing up years in New York?

Trishala: It was absolutely amazing. I feel so blessed to be living in a country that gives people opportunities regardless of race, color, ethnicity, etc. My growing up years was a lot of fun but they also came with a lot of tears and heartache, which I have moved on from.

Asha Ashish©: Who are you closest to in your family?

Trishala: I’m the closest to my aunt Enna(her mother’s sister) in my family. She is such an amazing person. She’s intelligent, confident, strong, hard-working, and a real go-getter. She’s my role model and my hero. She’s not scared of anything or anyone and she loves challenges. Some of her qualities I can truly, honestly, and happily say have definitely rubbed off on me. I love her. She is everything to me.

Asha Ashish©: Do you miss your folks in India?

Trishala: I do miss my family in India as well as India itself. The warmth that you feel from the people of your own culture/heritage is something that I cannot compare to New York.

Asha Ashish©: How do you stay in touch with your family back in India?

Trishala: We call each other often and keep in touch via text messages. We meet at least once a year. My buas Priya and Namrata come to New York and when they do, we are always together every day. It’s a lot of fun.

Asha Ashish©: Is it true that you are keen on pursuing a career in Bollywood?

Trishala: I am keen on it, but I’m also looking into other opportunities as well. I’m still a little apprehensive about moving so far away from NY. Being born and raised in the US all my life and then one day shifting my life somewhere else for work is a huge step for me. I’m still thinking about it, but haven’t made my final decision as of yet.

Asha Ashish©: Does your dad approve of you joining Bollywood?

Trishala: No, he’s not okay with me joining Bollywood at the moment. We have not had an opportunity to seriously discuss it and understand each other’s perspective. At the moment he is busy with his work and new family. It's been hard to find the right time which works for both of us. But ultimately the decision is mine either way or I will do what I think is best for me, and what makes me happy. I encourage people to do what they think is best for them and what makes them happy. Of course you should listen to your elder’s advice and definitely take that into consideration, but the decision should be yours at the end of the day. I love my dad, and I would love to make him happy always but if he’s not happy and does not support my decisions and certain steps that I take in life, all I can do is say I’m sorry.

Asha Ashish©: Are you friends with any other star kids from Bollywood?

Trishala: Yes, I'm friendly with Ranbir and Riddhima Kapoor as Ranbir studied here in the US. I am also in touch with Ravi and Renu Chopra’s sons Abhay and Junnu (Kapil). They are all like family to me.

Asha Ashish©: Name a Bollywood movie of recent times that you totally loved?

Trishala: I haven’t seen any Bollywood movies off late that have released but I do listen to the songs. I used to be very good at knowing everything but now I’ve been really entangled in a lot of things. So I don’t have much time to see them. The last movie I saw was My Name Is Khan and I loved it. I feel both Shah Rukh as well as Kajol did a fantastic job.

Asha Ashish©: Who are you favorite actor and actresses in Bollywood?

Trishala: My favorite actor has always and will always be Salman Khan. He’s a great actor and a great human being. He’s just awesome and I love watching his movies. My favorite actress in Kajol, I love watching her and her acting is so real and amazing.

Asha Ashish©: Which is your favorite Sanjay Dutt movie?

Trishala: I have a lot of movies that I enjoyed watching my father in. Of course there is Munnabhai (1 & 2)& Vaastav. I also enjoyed watching him in Deewaar, Kaante, Khalnayak, Haseena Maan Jaayegi. There are so many. When I see him in movies, I don’t look at him thinking he’s this famous Bollywood actor. I just think wow, that’s my dad, that’s my blood.

Asha Ashish©: Which is your least favorite Sanjay Dutt movie?

Trishala: I don’t even know what to say. I love all his movies, but there are also some which I did not care for because I did not enjoy the story line, but that’s just my opinion. I can't decide.

Asha Ashish©: How did you go about losing weight? What is your fitness regime?

Trishala: About 2 years ago I was in a Juicy Couture store and I really wanted a velour tracksuit. Their tracksuit hoodies are extremely form fitting and you really have to be in decent shape to wear one. I couldn’t even fit in a XL and look decent enough to walk around in. I remember going home and crying my eyes out. The next day I went to a gym called “Equinox”. I signed up and asked for a trainer. I started doing cardio 6 times a week on the elliptical machine and doing weights and other challenging exercises to get my heart rate up with Chris (my trainer) so I can burn the maximum amount of calories. I’ve never looked back since. I go by their motto now, “It’s not fitness, its life”. I will never allow myself to go back to what I was, not after all the hard work I had to go through to reach this point. I'm really happy with myself. It’s not hard to lose weight; it’s not hard to do anything. You just have to want it bad enough and I did.

Asha Ashish©: Where do you get your strength from?

Trishala: I get my strength from my grandparents and aunt. They have been my foundation throughout my entire life. They have raised me with typical traditional Indian values. I guess that is why I get the best of both worlds.