Soundarya Sharma says practical experience boosts acting more

Actress Soundarya Sharma, who is receiving praise for her song Laal Pari from Housefull 5, believes that acting is best learned through experience rather than theory. Speaking to IANS, she shared her thoughts on how practical exposure plays a far bigger role in shaping an actor than classroom learning ever could.

Soundarya has trained at prestigious institutions like the National School of Drama in Delhi, Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. Despite her education, she admits that real growth in acting comes from being on stage or in front of the camera. She noted that she’s still fairly new to both theatre and cinema, and is learning how each medium functions through hands-on experience.

Discussing the differences, she said, Theatre and cinema are very different forms. On stage, your performance must reach the last row of the audience, so your expressions and actions are more exaggerated. With the camera, it's more subtle. But in both, the emotions are the same—only the way of showing them changes.

She also mentioned that Housefull 5 is unlike anything she’s done before, highlighting how each project adds to her learning. For Soundarya, acting isn’t something that can be mastered through books; it’s a skill honed through doing, feeling, and adapting. Her journey so far shows a clear preference for practical knowledge, which she believes truly shapes an artist.