A Queen' doesn't come around every year: Lisa Haydon

Lisa Haydon, who made her acting debut with the 2010 film Aisha, made a career-defining move with the portrayal of a Parisian free-spirited Boho single mom in Vikas Bahl’s Queen. While her role garnered much critical acclaim, her next venture, The Shaukeens failed to wow her audiences. But Lisa is not one to give up with just one failure. Ahead of the release of her next outing Housefull 3, we caught up with the actress for a quick chat.

After Queen, you have signed a series of films with an ensemble cast, what aspects do you keep in mind while signing a role?
There are many variables while making a good film. Housefull is one franchise that has been appreciated. But having said that, am I looking at doing more roles like Queen? Well, not exactly. I don’t want to do just one genre of cinema. To be honest, comedy is my favourite genre. But I am so young in the industry and I feel that there is still a lot more to try.

Is there a dearth of women-oriented films?
There is no dearth of women-oriented films out there as there are quite a few of them coming up. A role is what you make it.

The Shaukeens failed with connect to the audience and create a mark…
I liked The Shaukeens even though nobody else watched it (laughs). It was not as if I was disappointed with the way it fared. There are a multitude of reasons why films work and why they don’t. If everybody could make something like Queen with each of his or her films, then they obviously would, but it doesn’t work out that way. How many breaks do you get in life? Queen is not going to be everyday. That’s a special film and it doesn’t come around every year.

When a film doesn’t do well, what does one go through?
You take months to shoot a film and another few months to promote. Everybody wants it to do well as there is a lot riding on it — a lot of time, money and effort. You have dedicated a portion of your life to that film. Films have a short life. When it doesn’t do well, you feel sad because of the magnitude of effort you have put into it. I take it in my stride and move forward. Besides, I don’t get all my kicks out of work. I get maybe 70 per cent from my work, another 20 percent from my friends and family and the remaining 10 percent from travelling. One needs to understand how to cope with such situations. If I put all my eggs in one basket, it will be a mess and you wouldn’t have a life after you are done being a star.

You are collaborating with Akshay Kumar for the second time. What kind of equation do you share with him? You have been victim to lot of his pranks too…
I don’t know why but he particularly narrows down on me every single time. Maybe that’s because I am an easy target. But he is a very kind and generous person and he has got sanskari attributes. Having said that, Akshay is a big prankster and just wants to have a good time on sets. Talking about the girls, somehow Jacqueline (Fernandez), Nargis (Fakhri) and I struck a good chord instantly. Our equation was so good that we just wouldn’t stop chatting. Abhishek called us the ‘gaggle’, like a gaggle of geese.

As an outsider, how difficult has it been to gain a foothold in the industry?
It’s funny… I am so unaware of the politics of Bollywood that I actually don’t understand what it means to be an insider and an outsider. I think everyone needs a break and star kids don’t have an easier way out. Having connections doesn’t make you a good actor and it doesn’t guarantee you success. Films have to do well and you need to prove yourself as a performer. There are so many variants that come together to make an actor a star. Coming from a film family is not enough. For me, I was very lucky to have gotten a break. I get along with everyone, I’m not ‘in’ but then who wants to be in anyway? As long as you are working, who cares?

Several actresses have voiced their opinions about pay disparity in the industry, what are your thoughts about it?
To be honest, I am not at a stage in my career where I can raise my voice against pay disparity. I do agree that women should be paid equally to men as everybody is putting in the same amount of effort. But I am not going to start calling out seasoned veteran actors who have put in so many years into films, and draw a comparison because I am very new in this business. I am very lucky to get what I get. And I get paid quite nicely so I am not upset about it. I think you get what you deserve. I haven’t reached a situation where I have
experienced pay disparity, but if it does happen I will definitely raise my voice against it.

Talking about your personal life, are you dating anybody?
No one’s getting anything. (Bursts out laughing)