Even before she read the script of My Melbourne, actor was thrilled by the prospect of shooting with an international cast and crew for the upcoming anthology. The four-part film, helmed by Onir, Rima Das, Arif Ali, and Kabir Khan, is set in Melbourne, Australia, and explores the themes of sexuality, race, gender, and disability. Sharma, who stars in Ali’s Jules, says, “This was an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone.
When I began shooting there, I was taken aback on the first day. No one pampers the actors. You have to take care of yourself,” she says of her experience of shooting for the film that had its Asian première at the recently concluded MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Revolving around an Indian girl who migrates to Australia with her husband, and finds comfort in the company of a homeless woman named Jules, the film also benefited from inputs by Ali’s brother, , who served as its creative director. “The story is relevant. Many people from different ethnicities came up to me during the shoot [to share their experiences].
An African woman was moved to tears and told me, ‘This is my story. I have felt like this: working behind the scenes while nobody pays attention to what I do.’” However, Jules was particularly special for Sharma because it brought her back under Imtiaz’s fold, a director who helmed her first two Bollywood films, Tamasha (2015), and Love Aaj Kal (2020).
“The vibe we share is special. I haven’t met a filmmaker who explains the.