Working with top stars has shaped me as an actor: Sonakshi

She made her Bollywood debut with Salman Khan and collaborated with Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn in multiple films and Sonakshi Sinha says she has learnt a lot about her craft while working with these stars.

When asked if she is happy with the way her career has shaped up post her debut "Dabangg", Sonakshi says her initial films helped her establish herself as a commercial heroine.

"It has been a great journey. My first film put me in the spot as a quintessential Hindi film heroine, a commercial heroine. After that, I kept getting such films. I really enjoyed them. Whatever I have learnt, I have learnt on the job through these films," she told PTI in an interview here.

"Working with these people who have so much experience and who have been in the industry for so long was good for me. There was so much to learn and take back from them. Working with them has shaped me as an actor. A certain following is there because of the films that I have done."

Besides helping her with acting, Sonakshi, 29, says her films with the stars has also instilled a confidence in her to carry a movie on her shoulder like she did in "Akira" and the upcoming Sunhil Sippy-directed "Noor", releasing this Friday.

"Today, I feel that I can shoulder the entire film because of the love that I received for being a part of those films. Working with such stars was not planned but everything has fallen into place for me and now I am able to do things that I have always wanted to do."

Talking about "Noor", in which Sonakshi plays a journalist, the actress says she is happy to be finally getting to play a normal, relatable character and not someone over-the-top like her previous outings.

"It is very fresh. It is a space that I have not been a part of before. It is a real character. Usually my characters in my films are very larger-than-life, unrealistic to an extent, not that I have not enjoyed those. But it was refreshing to play someone so real and relatable."

last year's release "Akira" saw Sonakshi play an action girl in her first solo lead and the actress says the film has made her more hungry for such characters.

"With 'Akira', I have tasted blood. Now, I really want to do films that really push me. That is there on my mind. Even 'Noor' is right up there. As an actor, it is my pleasure to play these parts. I want to do roles that challenge me, satisfy me and keep me engrossed in my work."

This is Sonakshi's seventh year in the film industry and the actress has seen both success and failure. She says she has learnt from her mistakes but she does not dwell on them as she believes in moving on.

"I believe one should make mistakes and learn from them. Even I have made mistakes like everyone. But instead of dwelling on them, I learn from them and move on. I have understood that I should not do certain things."