Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

Mumbai Mar.16: Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma, Suraj Sharma, Mehrene Kaur Pirzada & director Diljit Dosanjh (2nd L), during the press conference of the film Phillauri in Mumbai on wednesday night.

Fox Star Studios and Clean Slate Films’ Mar. 24 release, “Phillauri,” was promoted through a press conference at the J.W. Marriott that introduced all the four principal stars. Correction: Anushka Sharma, also the producer with her brother Karnesh Sharma, introduced the others – Diljit Dosanjh, the superstar from Punjab, Suraj “Homeland” Sharma doing his very first Hindi film in his homeland and Mehreen Pirzada, the newbie who was also worked only in a South Indian film. She added that this was the first time all four artistes had come in together on stage.

This eclectic cast is there in a love story tinged with the supernatural – a friendly ghost played by Anushka Sharma, who haunts the young would-be groom Suraj Sharma. Directed by newcomer Anshai Lal, the film is an entertainer with a message.

Sharma showed her fondness for her team and Suraj Sharma, virtually unrecognizable in a closed-neck tee and jacket with glasses, displayed a crazy sense of humor. He credited the “Sultan” actress with learning a flair for comedy, which he had never done before. He was awed not only by her but also by his 15 to 20 minutes of interaction with Dosanjh and the general setup of the film.

Asked, how he felt acting more with Croma (as in this film where the “ghost” will be put in later like in “Life Of Pi” where the lion was inserted later), Suraj Sharma replied that this was like anyone’s childhood where they gave free reign to their imagination. “As children we react to others who are not present when we play games when we reach a place that exists only in our imagination!” he quipped.

Dosanjh seemed a shade serious, but nothing could be more wrong. He displayed great humility and a charming smile when he referred to Anushka Sharma (and his previous “Udta Punjab” co-stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Alia Bhatt) as immensely accomplished talents that he had the privilege of working with in his films. Humbly, he stated that he lacked the stature of these three ladies and that he happened to come into these movies, but if he turned producer, he probably would not dare to ask them to come in.

Having played a ghost in an earlier (Punjabi) film, he was asked if he had guided Anushka Sharma on playing the spirit. He smiled and said that in the scenes he had with her, she was shown as a living human being! Pirzada gushed about all the artistes and felt blessed to be a part of the setup.

Anushka Sharma expressed special affection for Suraj Sharma, who she was hesitant about casting as she thought he did not speak Hindi. “He not only accepted my film but also dispelled my misconception and in our first joint reading of the script, he gave me a complex and made me under-confident, as he had made my 100-page script doubled with his notes!”

She stated that she loved experimenting, even as an actor, with things not done before and that prompted her choice of scripts like “NH10” and “Phillauri.” She admitted that the ghost from the past was a more difficult part of the role to do, but only because of the rigs and harnesses involved that twisted her body and limbs at weird angle even when she was speaking her lines.