
Talking about nepotism and navigating the industry, she shares, “Back in the days when I was just starting off, Raj used to help me a lot, even like 3 years back when we were in pandemic, he was like giving me cues, he has always been super super helpful. He is just a great co-actor to have, he elevated your performance.” She added “I never had a thing where a nepo kid will like come in, the kind of work I was doing was very different, I never came into that bracket only, I did Citylights, and after it was a difficult phase for me, second film defines you, after Citylights I thought ‘yes, I made it’ but actually I didn’t get any offer for 6-7 months. And then I still remember a very Sr. journalist messaging me ‘don’t let the lights dim’, and that kind of affected me a lot, I didn’t know people but that’s not an answer to anything, the best person I can go to was Bhatt sahab, and I signed a 3 film contract.”
She doesn’t shy away from discussing the years of silence after her debut, saying, “After the film came, there was a null for so many years. There was a year when I was only working for 2 days and earning only that much. Before my first film, I would go out, audition, meet people, and make friends. Auditioning for ads is different; they reject you, but you don’t let it get to your heart. But once you become Semi-famous, that’s a very tricky place to be at, you are ‘there’ and then you are ‘absolutely not there’. Everything dried out, fizzled out, because I didn’t know who do I approach, what do I do.”
Despite the achievements, she admits certain perceptions still linger, “It still bothers me, ‘Raj’s wife’, I feel like perhaps my work has to speak louder. I am raised in a very different; it was not a case where my parents pushed me to get married, it was always about having an individual output towards life. I feel like I am just pushing the ceiling. When I met most of the directors, they are nice, I just feel like perhaps I need to prove myself a little more, and only that works. I do good work, and work comes. It's not only about Raj and my relationship– I feel they are unable to put me or see me in what they are developing.”
On her craft, Patralekhaa shares a vulnerable glimpse into her process, “My process is a bit different, obviously I do the reading and mandate, but the first 2-3 days, I am completely lost, idk what's happening, it's a very overwhelming feeling. I feel when you are on a set and you are doing the thing in and out, like different scenes from the script in a completely different look, something happens, and it's like ‘That's her’. I feel my process starts once I am on the set, I can prepare, learn lines, but the moments are what capture who that person/character is.”
Touching on her mental health, she says, “There were days when I used to be really sad, but then I would pull myself out of bed and do random stuff, but also I can say that I had the support of my parents, and that was the most important thing. My parents have been a very important part of me for not going insane.”
Addressing speculation about cosmetic enhancements, she offers a frank perspective, “In front of the camera, you have to look a certain way. People don't understand that a camera takes all your negatives and amplifies them, also you are very critical of yourself. I feel it’s easier to tell actors that ‘why have you done this’ and ‘why aren’t you confident enough’. We are confident, but you have to look a certain way in front of the camera. I don’t care, if I do anything, if I am doing some botox or whatever, it’s really for me, for me to be confident and look nice, I really don’t care what people have to think.”
Patralekhaa also takes a moment to cheer on her contemporaries, saying, “I think Huma is doing a really good job with Maharani, Radhika does a really good job, I love Alia, everyone loves Alia, what she does to her character I don’t think anybody can do that. So does Ranbir, I think they both are two individuals that just pop by themselves on screen, and what they do can’t be done by anybody