The Bad Man of Bollywood is actually pretty good!
After Amritsar girl Aneet Padda wowed the cinegoers with Saiyaara, another girl from Ambala is set to shine on the silver screen. Meet Divita Juneja, who plays the titular role in Heer Express.
Directed by Umesh Shukla (Oh My God and 102 Not Out), the film is written and produced by Sanjay Grover, and boasts of an impressive ensemble cast — Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Gulshan Grover and Prit Kamani.
During the promotional tour which kicked off in Chandigarh on Monday, debutante Divita’s wind beneath the wings was the Bad Man of Bollywood, Gulshan Grover. Proud of his son, Sanjay Grover, who has written and produced the film, the ‘Punjabi’ in Gulshan was visible as he sat down for an interview at The Tribune.
He was concerned about the flood situation in Punjab, but refused to talk about the seva he did for the flood victims. He said, “Who are we to ‘donate’? Seva is an inherent part of our culture, and I am not in favour of ‘publicising’ it.”
Coming back to Heer Express, the story revolves around a girl who moves from Punjab to London to pursue her dreams. Grover, with the exuberance of a child, narrates the chain of events. How Divita was picked up by Sidharth Malhotra from the audience at an awards function to perform on stage with him, and how director Umesh Shukla, in that brief stage appearance, found his Heer in her. “Shukla called Sanjay that in Divita he saw the promise to carry the women-centric film and here we are!” he said.
The journey onwards wasn’t that smooth though. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Starting with the ‘look’ test to riding a horse that led to many falls; but Divita’s calm and composure won the team’s faith. “Sanjay treats Divita like his sister, and is very protective. She made a great rapport with Ashutosh and Sanjay (Mishra) too,” shared Gulshan.
A trained dancer and singer, for Divita playing this role was ‘an intensive acting masterclass’. “When a director like Umesh Shukla puts faith on you, you too become confident. Acting with Grover sir and the rest of the cast, including Meghna (Malik) ma’am, I feel I’ve grown up on this set!”
Even as he shone the spotlight on Divita, we couldn’t resist but ask him about the most challenging role in his 100+ film career across Hindi, English, Punjabi and regional cinema. “Each role comes with its own set of challenges. I recently shot for Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood, and to lean on to this young, very promising man’s sensibility was a challenge in itself.”
Full of admiration for his friend Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan, he is equally proud of his son Sanjay, whom he would like to see on screen someday. “Sanjay felt India wasn’t making family dramas any more. Heer Express is our step in that direction!”
The films hits cinemas on September 12.
Entertainment