Parineeti Chopra, at the trailer launch of her forthcoming film Saina, interacted with the media on Monday. During the interaction, she was asked if she felt an added pressure to pick up a role which was first offered to Shraddha Kapoor. "I had only my pressure and that of my director. I wanted to impress him and work hard to learn the sport. I didn't take any external pressure. The pressure was me, my coach approving what I'm learning, my director approving what I'm looking like on-screen. There was no other pressure," news agency PTI quoted Parineeti as saying. Shraddha Kapoor, in 2019, had begun prepping for the film. However, she had to quit the project due to her busy schedule.
Parineeti Chopra described the project as a "challenge," and she said, "We had full support of Saina. She gave us access to her life. I would call her, video call her and she would answer all my questions. That way pressure management was better. I already had the pressure to learn badminton, I couldn't have taken anything else. I would've crumbled and wouldn't have been able to concentrate. Doing Saina is a challenge for me."
Speaking of her experience of working film the film's director Amol Gupte, the actress told PTI, "Amol Sir spent time with the family and got the real emotions out. What the mother felt when Saina was eating a meal, what the father felt when they didn't have money, what the sister felt when she was training. The behind the scenes of the world class player. That was a winning point for me."
The 32-year-old actress added that she wanted to surprise" everyone with her performance and Saina Nehwal's biopic seemed just the right pick. She said, "The films I was doing were pretty much an extension of me and also what writers and directors thought I was. When this film came to my life, I was looking to surprise everyone, do something I'm not known for. So a sports biopic of a person who's still in action is exactly the kind of role I would have done, even if it was fiction. Biopic was an added bonus."
Saina, a biopic on badminton player Saina Nehwal, showcases her stellar journey from being a young girl who aspires to win medals for her country and the actual process of turning her dreams into reality. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, the film will hit the screens on March 26.
(With inputs from PTI)
