Palak Tiwari says Salman Khan's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan failure didn't impact her
Palak Tiwari opened up about the failure of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, saying she never saw it as her personal setback because the film belonged entirely to Salman Khan in the public imagination. The actor also spoke about breaking stereotypes with Lukkhe and earning opportunities through auditions.
For Palak Tiwari, her latest show, Lukkhe is not just another acting project but also an opportunity to break away from the image people have built around her over the years. The actor, who plays Sanobar in the series, shared that she feels far more connected to the character than to the glamorous social media persona audiences associate her with.
In an exclusive interaction with India Today, Palak also spoke about her mother, Shweta Tiwari, being deeply honest with her about the industry, the pressure of constantly proving herself through auditions, and why the failure of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan never really impacted her personally. She played the role of Muskan in the film.
Talking about finally getting a role that reflects parts of her real personality, Palak admitted that she is closer to her character in real life than what one sees on social media.
"The girl presented on social media, I don't think she even exists! I am just a sensor that people are using to sell their product. Over here, I get to be the closest version of me. Because in my day-to-day, I am somebody that cries, I am somebody that loves ferociously, I am somebody that fights for my family," she said, adding that the difficult part was not playing the character, but getting people to believe she could pull off a role like Sanobar in the first place.
“The challenge is to have somebody see me as Sanobar, which this team did. And I think that was half my work done. The rest was just to prove them right,” she said.
Palak Tiwari recalls mother Shweta’s advice
Palak also opened up about conversations with her mother regarding acting and revealed that Shweta never discouraged her from entering the profession despite witnessing the darker side of the industry herself. However, she did ensure that her daughter understood the seriousness and unpredictability of the profession.
“I don't think she ever undermined me in that way at all. When I decided to be an actor, my mom was going through a very turbulent time in her personal life. And I first-hand saw the tribulations that sort of come with that. So, she was like, when you've seen all this and you still want to be an actor, you really have something," the Lukkhe actor said.
I think the thing that was put in my mind very early on was that this is not something you can disrespect. My mom always says work only comes to those who love and respect their work. And that is something I live by," she added.
Palak Tiwari on Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan failure
The actor also addressed the underperformance of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan at the box office and explained why she never internalised the film’s failure as her own setback.
According to Palak, the film entirely belonged to Salman Khan in the public imagination, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed.
“The thing about Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan was, all the credit goes to Salman sir, it was tanking and that also went only on his shoulders. And if that film was a super hit, it would have been all him. At the end of the day, I think it's very presumptuous of me to think that anyone would care about Palak Tiwari in a Salman Khan film. It was not my film to begin with,” she said.
The actor further added that her struggle post her first film has mostly been about patience and changing industry perceptions about the kind of roles she can do.
Palak said, "I don't think anybody gave me a project or didn't give me a project because of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The struggle that you talk about, I think, with me, it's just been about being patient. It's never been, thankfully, about rejection. Because I feel like sometimes people put a certain lens onto you, 'oh, this is the kind of roles that you'll do'. And to even convince them of that is a bit tough.”
She concluded by saying that she has never shied away from auditions and would rather earn opportunities than expect them to come easily.
“But the trick, honestly, is to just keep auditioning. I have never been averse to auditioning. I love auditioning. You call me 20 times. I'll be there 20 times in the same talk. Because I really think that's what I owe to my job. I am fine if people don't call me because I would rather earn every single thing that I do," she said.
Also starring King, Lakshvir Saran and Shivankit Singh Parihar, Lukkhe is currently streaming on Prime Video.
For Palak Tiwari, her latest show, Lukkhe is not just another acting project but also an opportunity to break away from the image people have built around her over the years. The actor, who plays Sanobar in the series, shared that she feels far more connected to the character than to the glamorous social media persona audiences associate her with.
In an exclusive interaction with India Today, Palak also spoke about her mother, Shweta Tiwari, being deeply honest with her about the industry, the pressure of constantly proving herself through auditions, and why the failure of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan never really impacted her personally. She played the role of Muskan in the film.
Talking about finally getting a role that reflects parts of her real personality, Palak admitted that she is closer to her character in real life than what one sees on social media.
"The girl presented on social media, I don't think she even exists! I am just a sensor that people are using to sell their product. Over here, I get to be the closest version of me. Because in my day-to-day, I am somebody that cries, I am somebody that loves ferociously, I am somebody that fights for my family," she said, adding that the difficult part was not playing the character, but getting people to believe she could pull off a role like Sanobar in the first place.
“The challenge is to have somebody see me as Sanobar, which this team did. And I think that was half my work done. The rest was just to prove them right,” she said.
Palak Tiwari recalls mother Shweta’s advice
Palak also opened up about conversations with her mother regarding acting and revealed that Shweta never discouraged her from entering the profession despite witnessing the darker side of the industry herself. However, she did ensure that her daughter understood the seriousness and unpredictability of the profession.
“I don't think she ever undermined me in that way at all. When I decided to be an actor, my mom was going through a very turbulent time in her personal life. And I first-hand saw the tribulations that sort of come with that. So, she was like, when you've seen all this and you still want to be an actor, you really have something," the Lukkhe actor said.
I think the thing that was put in my mind very early on was that this is not something you can disrespect. My mom always says work only comes to those who love and respect their work. And that is something I live by," she added.
Palak Tiwari on Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan failure
The actor also addressed the underperformance of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan at the box office and explained why she never internalised the film’s failure as her own setback.
According to Palak, the film entirely belonged to Salman Khan in the public imagination, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed.
“The thing about Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan was, all the credit goes to Salman sir, it was tanking and that also went only on his shoulders. And if that film was a super hit, it would have been all him. At the end of the day, I think it's very presumptuous of me to think that anyone would care about Palak Tiwari in a Salman Khan film. It was not my film to begin with,” she said.
The actor further added that her struggle post her first film has mostly been about patience and changing industry perceptions about the kind of roles she can do.
Palak said, "I don't think anybody gave me a project or didn't give me a project because of Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The struggle that you talk about, I think, with me, it's just been about being patient. It's never been, thankfully, about rejection. Because I feel like sometimes people put a certain lens onto you, 'oh, this is the kind of roles that you'll do'. And to even convince them of that is a bit tough.”
She concluded by saying that she has never shied away from auditions and would rather earn opportunities than expect them to come easily.
“But the trick, honestly, is to just keep auditioning. I have never been averse to auditioning. I love auditioning. You call me 20 times. I'll be there 20 times in the same talk. Because I really think that's what I owe to my job. I am fine if people don't call me because I would rather earn every single thing that I do," she said.
Also starring King, Lakshvir Saran and Shivankit Singh Parihar, Lukkhe is currently streaming on Prime Video.
