Actress Adah Sharma believes intuition, spontaneity and staying true to herself have played an important role in shaping her career. From the intense and hard-hitting The Kerala Story to the quirky, comedy-filled world of Sunflower, the actress has explored contrasting characters without allowing herself to be confined to one genre. During a media session she hosted at the Jagran Film Festival, Adah opened up about her script selection process, her approach to social media and why she prefers sharing her authentic self with her audience.
When asked how she decides which projects to take on and what goes through her mind while reading a script, Adah credited intuition and a little bit of luck. She recalled how the release of Sunflower shortly after The Kerala Story helped her avoid being typecast as an actress suited only for serious, realistic roles.
“I think it's a matter of intuition. I've been very lucky—for instance, Sunflower was released just three or four months after The Kerala Story, so I didn't get typecast. A fellow actress friend of mine even remarked on how lucky I was; after The Kerala Story, everyone assumed I'd be typecast—that I'd only do realistic, serious films and nothing lighthearted. But then Sunflower came out, which is full of fun—the character is bold, loud, and there's a lot of comedy! It really just came down to luck. Now, filmmakers are offering me all sorts of different roles, so I feel truly blessed—I hope it continues this way!” Adah said.
The actress also spoke about her social media presence, which often gives fans a glimpse of her playful personality beyond her on-screen characters. Asked whether she had any tips for young people on using social media, Adah jokingly admitted that she might not be the best person to offer professional advice, considering how casually she creates her own content.
“Oh my god! People tell me that, but I'm honestly the wrong person to ask! If you look at my videos, I either edit them myself, do them in a single take, or just film them in selfie mode—mostly because I'm actually quite lazy! I don't want to deal with complex editing, so I just go for the easiest approach,” she said.
For Adah, however, social media is about much more than creating perfectly edited videos or chasing trends. She sees it as a space where she can express aspects of her real-life personality that may not always come through in the characters she portrays on screen.
“I started this because I wanted to share my real-life self—aspects of who I am in real life that I can't necessarily express through the characters I play. For instance, in Kaala, I played a very serious role, so there was no room for lightheartedness or fun. Similarly, the character I played in Governor was completely different. I use social media to share my authentic, real-life self—all the fun, playful moments,” Adah explained.
Sharing her philosophy on creating content, the actress said she does not treat social media as another professional responsibility. Instead, she prefers posting things she genuinely enjoys, whether that means filming a funny moment or sharing a video of a cat.
“I think the best approach is simply to share whatever you enjoy doing; I don't view social media as ‘work.’ If I happen to film a video of a cat—because I just happen to like cats—I'll post it. That's how I use it: as a way to stay connected with my audience,” she added.
Meanwhile, Adah has several interesting projects in the pipeline, including Haatak, a crime thriller directed by Ajay K. Sharma, and Gajra, her Marathi film debut directed by Shreyas Jadhav. Her upcoming slate also includes the unconventional female superhero project Velli, The Game of Girgit and the Telugu film Vipra.
With her willingness to experiment across genres and her refreshingly unfiltered approach to social media, Adah continues to embrace different sides of her personality, both on screen and off it.