Saiee Manjrekar’s earliest memory of being on a film set involves Maggi. She was just four when the young actor, who makes her debut opposite Salman Khan in Dabbang 3 , was hiding in her father and director-actor Mahesh Manjrekar’s ( Vaastav: The Reality , Astitva ) vanity van so she could eat noodles. A few years later, as she watched her father direct her mother and Marathi actress Medha in Natsamrat was when Manjrekar’s fascination with acting was born. “He was shooting a scene where my mother had to hit someone and cry. As soon as he called ‘cut’, she was next to me talking normally. I found that very fascinating, and wondered how she just did that. It was after this that I began observing tiny things on sets and that was when I knew that this was what I wanted to do.”
First time’s a charm
Her parents saw her interested in films and acting as a passing fancy but when Manjrekar finally told her parents she wanted to study theatre as a subject in college, they knew she was serious about her future plans. “My dad was ecstatic but my mom asked me if I was sure.” She took a gap year before going abroad to study so she could, “watch more plays, do voice training and I joined dance classes again and began training with Saroj (Khan) Masterji.”
In March 2018, Manjrekar was handpicked by Khan to star alongside him and Sonakshi Sinha in the third installment of the uber successful Dabbang franchise. “My character, Khushi, is very innocent, sweet and loveable and I think Salman sir saw those things in me as a person. I don’t think he even knew I was interested in acting, he just wanted to do a screen test to see how I would look. They did a few screen tests and I think I did fairly well.”
Before Khan became her first co-star, she knew him as her father’s friend. “He was one of my favourite people even as a kid, and I always called him Salman sir because there was always that respect for him.” Among her best-loved Salman-starrers of the past, Manjrekar picks Hum Aapke Hain Kaun! , Tere Naam and Bajrangi Bhaijaan . And, her favourite memory of the superstar is of him helping her learn to drive a BB car when she was a kid.
When it was time for Manjrekar to face the camera along with Khan, though, she didn’t need much help. “My first scene was where Chulbul (Salman’s character) and Khushi meet for the first time. I knew this was a make or break moment for me. He’d given me the opportunity to be a part of this film and I had to do it justice. I gathered up all my courage, literally squeezed out all of it, and gave my first shot. On the first take itself, Prabhu (Deva, director) sir was okay with it. Since then Salman sir has been teasing me about being a one-take artist,” she remembers with a laugh.
Change beckons
Like most of the current crop of debutants, Manjrekar sounds confident whether she’s talking about romancing an actor a few decades older than her or preparing for a life under the spotlight. But, there is an underlying sense of wonder and anticipation when she talks about how her life could potentially change after December 20 when the film releases. “I know that being a public figure comes with a lot of exposure. I’ll have to learn the ropes on my own, and how to cope with it at my own pace. Be it my parents or Salman sir, they’ve always told me that they’ll support me and be there for me, whichever way I decide to deal with it.”
Watching a film first day, first show, has been a ritual for Manjrekar and her father for some years now. So, their plans for December 20 are already in place. “We went to Chitra for a movie he’d done called, Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy . Watching the reactions of people was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had. To watch something your father has created be appreciated, without people knowing you’re actually there is a special feeling. I just hope I get to feel that with my own work too,” she says, flashing a big but nervous smile.
