Kriti Sanon, the pretty girl making her Bollywood debut with Tiger Shroff in his debut vehicle as well Heropanti (May 23), is not unduly fazed by the attention her co-star is receiving. “It is natural for the audience as well as for the media to train their sights on him. He is a known figure as his father (Jackie) has been working in the industry for decades. Nobody knows about me. They will eventually, after they watch my movie. So, why should I get hassled? While we were shooting this film, never once was I made to feel that it was an unequal match. It was as much my debut as it was Tiger’s,” says Kriti, who has one more film to her credit. She has acted opposite Mahesh Babu in this year’s Telugu film 1: Nenokkadine .
Heropanti is a love story that involves all the elements of a masala Bollywood film. As Dimpy, a beautiful girl in love with a dashing action hero, Kriti has enough and more opportunity to showcase her dancing skills and look gorgeous. She says that she bagged the film when she had only shot for a single schedule of 1: Nenokkadine . “I was asked to come for a screen test by Sabbir (Khan, director) and it was like an audition. Within three days, I was asked to come once more to our producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s office and while driving there, I was told that I was on! I had heard about how long it takes for people to get their first film so I was absolutely shocked that it had been that smooth,” she laughs, remembering how they celebrated the signing with chocolates that are a permanent fixture in Sajid’s cabin.
For the Delhi girl, who was born to a CA father and a physics professor mother, Mumbai has been welcoming. “I am an engineer by profession but I knew I wanted to act. My parents always encouraged me and when my father shifted to Mumbai for work for a brief while, I came along. So, family support has been a big thing,” says the girl, who is busy promoting her film for over a month now.
Tiger has been a very supportive co-star, she says. “Both of us were new. Yes, you can say I was his senior by a single schedule! He never behaved like a star son. We were both patient with each other as sometimes either of us would have a tough time completing a shot. He is a very focussed actor,” says Kriti.
The actress was embroiled in a controversy around her first film 1: Nenokkadine, a poster of which showed her crawling behind the hero. This got angry tweets from actress Samantha, actor Siddharth and a few others in the industry. Ask her about it and she says, “I wasn’t even in Hyderabad when the issue came up. I was busy handling the two films simultaneously. I am a bit of a feminist so I wouldn’t have posed for it if I found it offensive. That particular pose got played up in the poster and it was a creative call. But I can’t allow myself to get hassled by such little things.”
