With a rather impressive track record at the box office and an equally notable list of films in her kitty, actress Anushka Sharma has a lot to be proud of. More so, since she is no industry kid and has made it big completely on her own. Although the actress does admit that being a star kid has its advantages, she believes that belonging to a non-filmy family has its pluses too.

“As a star-kid, you automatically come in with the tag of a star in a way, so that definitely works to a great extent. But the best thing about being an outsider is that I have nothing to lose. I can take risks and experiment more when it comes to my roles. But more than that I think it keeps you rooted to reality. I am happy with my tag of being an outsider,” says Anushka.

But ask her if things would have been different post her debut Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi had she been from a film family and she agrees. “Maybe, who knows… But, I have no complaints about having come up the hard way. I did not become a star overnight, but I am glad that I could prove my worth with my very next film where I was not piggy-backing on a bigger co-star,” says Anushka talking about her second hit Band Baajaa Baarat.

Currently, however, she’s high on the praise she’s been garnering for her recent outing Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Point out that she’s not the quintessential Yash Chopra heroine in the film, and she agrees. “It was like he broke his own mould of a heroine with my character to a large extent, or rather extended it to include this facet too,” shares Anushka, adding that no matter how the film would have done commercially, it would always be special for her.

Did working with her first co-star Shah Rukh Khan again add to the charm? “Definitely. Shah Rukh and I did not become friends instantly during our first film. But it was different in that sense during this film,” she reveals. Ask Anushka if she thinks that it’s possible to have real friends in the industry considering all the competition, and she reveals that she prefers not to get too close with the people she works with.

“The demarcation is a fine line, but it’s there. I prefer keeping work separate from my personal life and that includes friends. I am very cordial with the people I work with, but when it comes to friends, none of them are from the industry and I prefer it like that. I want to be working with people because I respect their talent, not only because I get along well with them. People may mistake that as snobbery, but that’s the way I am,” she states firmly.

What about her many link-ups? “People can assume or imagine what they like, but those rumours don’t bother me. What I would be upset about, however is if people would make wrong comments about my professionalism. I take that very seriously. After all, that’s what I am here for,” smiles Anushka.