The consummate ease with which Himash Kohli handled the often left-field questions that were put to him by a very aggressive audience belied the fact that he was promoting his debut film. Speaking to the media at a press conference in New Delhi recenlty, the young cast of Yaariyan , along with director Divya Khosla gave insights into the development of the film, released this week.
Shot in St. Joseph’s School, Darjeeling, the movie explores the lives and relationships of a group of five close-knit friends as they progress through college, aiming to invoke the bonhomie of college friends coping with their first forays into the real world. A coming of age story, the movie hopes to connect with the youth and provide a reaffirming depiction of those transition years.
Asked about the young star cast, Divya Khosla said that as the college romance necessitated leads to be in their early twenties, and with most established actors having a paucity of dates, it was decided that the movie should have new actors.
With country-wide auditions not yielding results, Himash, who essays the role of Lakshya in the film, was approached after being spotted in Channel V’s show Hamse Hai Life , and Rakul, who had done films down South was asked to enact Saloni’s role. The duo joined the other three lead characters to undergo a six-month action course helping to form a bond.
Talking about her life as an actress, Rakul, a graduate in mathematics from Jesus and Mary College, remembered how she did her first film in Kannada which increased her pocket money.
After the critical success that film received, she got more involved in the film business. With Yaariyan , she finally is doing what she always wanted to do, that is a Hindi film.
Himash too talked about his journey from being a radio jockey to a TV actor to movies.
“Acting in the films is every TV actor’s dream and I feel really lucky to be living the dream,” he commented.
