As Heropanti opened at the weekend, Bollywood Hungama’s Joginder Tuteja caught up with emerging actress Kriti Sanon to chat to about her experience working on this film…
FOR Delhi girl Kriti Sanon, a dream journey to Mumbai quickly culminated into an offer to play a leading lady in a film that is also special for being the launch pad of Bollywood star Jackie Shroff’s son, Tiger.
No wonder, for someone who had started dabbling in modelling and advertisements while simultaneously pursuing her engineering qualification, it has been a quick rise to the world of showbiz for Kriti.
Not many know this, but it was pretty much a matter of luck and chance for Kriti who has absolutely no connections with Bollywood.
Almost settling for the ramp and advertising assignments, Kriti explains what changed the course of her plans.
“I started taking myself a lot more seriously when my ad directors said that they could see an acting spark in me,” says Kriti, “I won’t deny that I didn’t feel the same way.
“However, there is always this fear of the unknown, the uncertainty element that makes you wonder if you are doing the right thing.
“I just took the plunge… I felt that unless I do something, how would I know whether I can do it or not? I assessed my potential and started believing that I had it in me. I started trying and realised that it was a lot of fun after all.”
It wasn’t a straight forward entry into the world of Bollywood for Kriti though.
While director Sabbir Khan felt (after spotting her in an advertisement) that she was just the right fit for Heropanti, the film almost didn’t happen for Kriti. The reason being that her dates had been given away for another film and she wasn’t available for as many as six months.
However, destiny had other plans and when the other film didn’t happen, Kriti found herself walking straight into Heropanti while auditioning with Tiger Shroff.
“I was in conversations with other film-makers as well and had given a few auditions too. I was very particular though that I wanted to debut with something substantial where I could showcase my talent.
“Honestly, I wanted a good launch pad for myself and though there were also other projects which came from good banners, there was something or the other lacking in there.
“Either it used to be an ensemble cast set up and in some cases, there was nothing at all to do for a girl,” she explained.
Heropanti changed it all for Kriti.
“When Heropanti came my way, I was fully convinced that this was the film for me. The way Sabbir narrated the script to me, I was sold.
“I knew that he was the man for the job. Further confidence came from the fact that this was a Sajid Nadiadwala production.
“He is one of the greatest producers and ensured that everything was in place. He makes some very good choices when it comes to scripts.
“Also, when it comes to making, marketing, promoting and releasing a film, he puts in his best. Even though he was busy shooting for Kick with Salman Khan, he took so much care of Heropanti. That was amazing.”
Heropanti is the remake of the 2008 Telugu movie Parug. It is the story of two young conflicting protagonists, their battles with society and their coming-of-age love story.
Rising from the present India, an era filled with conflicts between remarkable modernity and deep-rooted archaic traditions, an era where the fight between the big cities and small towns is at its peak comes a love story. A love story sealed with an impossible fate, the story of the bold Bablu and the bratty Dimpy. Set against brutal clans and an increasingly violent landscape; will Bablu and Dimpy’s love blossom? Will their love have a chance? – bollywoodhungama.com; additional info from oneindia.in