Aneet Padda Reveals Why She Chose Shakti Shalini’s Horror After Saiyaara’s Romance: It’s Completely On My Shoulders

Aneet Padda believes that the idea of grand, selfless love still has a place in today’s world, despite her generation’s association with situationships and commitment issues. The actress, who won hearts with Saiyaara, says the romantic drama offered audiences a chance to see love as something pure and beautiful, even when it is difficult. In an interview, Padda also opened up about moving beyond romance with Shakti Shalini, describing the upcoming project as an opportunity to explore a different side of herself. She discussed her love for horror films, revealing why The Conjuring remains her favourite.

Speaking to Variety India,   said she feels like her generation gets a bad name for situationships and commitment concerns, as if traditional romance is passé. “People don’t really seem to believe that our generation doesn’t subscribe to the idea of real, sacrificial or grand love.

The actress feels Saiyaara portrayed love differently, as something true, beautiful and larger than life. And she knew that such a love could be tough, too, but insisted that the difficulty didn’t make it any less real. By rediscovering the kind of romance that the public has grown up watching in Yash Raj Films, Saiyaara provided the audience a chance to reconnect with an ideal that many may have ceased believing in. For Padda, the picture was an opportunity to tell a modern generation that pure, big love may still strike a chord.

“Even the idea of love that we grew up watching in a Yash Raj film. It doesn’t exist for us. We’ve lived in situationships and commitment issues. Saiyaara was the perfect opportunity to serve a larger picture, that love can be pure, beautiful and grand, while all the time being incredibly challenging.”

Following the success of Saiyaara, Padda was keen to explore a role that would take her away from the familiar territory of a romantic drama. She found that opportunity in Shakti Shalini, which she described as a combination of action, romance and supernatural elements. The actress claimed the film will give her the opportunity to explore a completely different side of herself as a performer. She was very intrigued about helming a solo film, where she’s largely responsible for carrying the tale. “It’s by definition, the exact thing I’m going to want to do after Saiyaara. It’s so different,” she said.

Padda also spoke about how important it was to obtain such a chance so early in her career. “I wanted to do a solo film, to be as blunt as I can be. I wanted to be able to say that this is my movie. As an actor, it’s on my shoulders. And how many women get to do that? I just felt very lucky to be able to have that in my second film,” she added.

She might be nervous to take on that duty, but Padda said she was ready to own the consequences. The film, to her, is a creative challenge and a chance to define herself beyond the triumph of Saiyaara. “Even though it’s completely on my shoulders and that can be a little bit intimidating, but whatever happens with it is mine to own.”

Outside of romantic dramas, Padda admitted she’s a big admirer of horror, though she likes mainstream horror to the more gory or hard-to-watch indie films. The Conjuring, the supernatural horror film that terrified her as a child, is her favourite. She remembered a comical memory of being so afraid that her father had a hard time leaving her alone, even for a short period of time, to use the washroom in retrospect. Padda was too scared to be alone and insisted on going with him.

Her other favourites include The Haunting of Hill House, confirming her taste for accessible, atmospheric horror stories over those relying mostly on gore.

Aneet Padda was recently seen in the show , which premiered on JioHotstar.