Did you expect the nomination?
“Actually, I had completely forgotten about the film (laughs). Don’t get me wrong. I loved being a part of such a great film and working with Madhur (Bhandarkar) who is a brilliant director, but it’s just that the film released in the beginning of the year, and I had absolutely no expectations of a nomination. But it is definitely good to be appreciated. It was not a typical film with stars, so it definitely felt good when it did well.”

Do you expect to win?
“Not really.”

Who would you consider your closest competitor?
“I hope Shefali Shah wins because she has been my institution. But the young girls were really good – Shweta Prasad in Iqbal and Ayesha Kapoor in Black were really good, and one of them might run off with it. I am a huge fan of Shweta’s.”

How will you celebrate if you win?
“I’ll just jump into my car and take off to Goa. That is my celebration for anything good that happens in my life. I just go off to some remote beach in Goa and jump into the sea and chill. I usually go alone, but if any of my friends want to come along they’re most welcome.”

What are you doing right now?
“I’m actually going off to Goa, but for a shoot this time. This is for Retiesh’s film Honeymoon. And there are a whole lot of mad people accompanying me. There’s Ranvir, Vikram Chatwal – all a great bunch of people. The film has been written by Anurag Kashyap and each character is clearly etched. It’s an interesting story.”