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‘IT CAN NEVER GET BIGGER THAN THIS FOR ME’
Monika Rawal Kukreja
Actor Taapsee Pannu’s joy and excitement knew no bounds after she bagged filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, costarring Shah Rukh Khan. “It is probably the biggest I could have ever got,” exclaims Pannu, adding, “It’s too good to be true. I never thought I’ll someday reach this, forget about so soon. So, I wasn’t talking about it, as I just didn’t want to jinx it in any way.”
Asked about her first reaction on knowing that she’s going to star in such a big project, Pannu says, “I don’t think it can ever get bigger than this for me. The disbelief of being a part of it was lingering on, till the time I reported on set and the first day of shoot was done.”
Pannu reveals that her sister, Shagun, kept asking, even after the first day of the shoot — “Tu abhi bhi hai na film mein?” “My parents, however, didn’t give me any noticeable reaction. Maybe they’ve also understood that till the time it happens, let’s not celebrate too
Titas Chowdhury
Five years after Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), actor Aakanksha Singh is back in Bollywood with Runway 34. But, the actor considers the upcoming thriller to be her debut vehicle in the Hindi film industry. “For me, Runway 34 is a very big opportunity. I am treating it like my debut film here,” says Singh, who plays actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn’s wife in the film.
But, was she apprehensive about being labelled the hero’s wife? “No! My character is an important part of the film. She early,” she adds.
It was in 2020 when reports first surfaced that Hirani is considering Pannu for his next, and she admits she thought it to be “yet another rumour, which will make you happy for a while, but nothing’s going to happen”. However, a call from Hirani was all it took to change everything for her. “He said, ‘Now that it’s already out, let me officially call you and say that I’m doing this film, and I’d love for you to be a part of it.’ Raju sir was so excited about the project that on the first call itself, he started narrating the first two scenes,” recounts the actor, who has shot for almost 10 days on the film.
So what was a bigger joy — being directed by Hirani or sharing screen with Khan? “Actually, both in different ways. Films are a director’s medium. I’m not a very trained actor, so I get excited to know who’s going to direct me. I was looking forward to working with Raju sir who makes stories so simple, yet so likeable, engrossing and charming. He doesn’t make intense multi-layered, multitwisted cinema, yet it’s captivating. isn’t a trophy wife. She pushes him to do better when he feels low. She has her own identity,” she says.
Apart from Singh, Runway 34 has two other female actors playing pivotal parts, namely Rakul Preet Singh and Angira Dhar. And the actor dismisses talks of any kind of insecurity, saying: “Feeling insecure of other female actors won’t take me anywhere, and I have none. My job is to act and give my 200%. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.”
So, how was it being directed by Devgn? “We all know how brilliant an actor he is. But, he is a very sound
Also, the kind of range and age group of audience that connects with his films is huge,” she shares, adding, “With Shah Rukh sir, what I was looking forward to the most was spending time off-screen with him, where we can just chat. I love his personality beyond films as well — the wit, humour and experience he has, and the honesty with which he narrates his experiences.”
In her tweet announcing the film, Pannu had written, “It’s hard to make it till here, and it’s harder when you are all by yourself... Cheers to honesty, hard work and perseverance.” Elaborating on what she meant by “all by yourself”, the actor says, “Sitting in Delhi, 10-12 years ago, I’d have possibly said to myself, ‘Yeh kaise ho sakta hai?’ At max, you’d be able to do a few noticeable films in your career, that’s about it... I have no one to make a call [to a filmmaker] and push my name [for a project]. So, the thrill as someone who could never even imagine this as a dream, and have this call come from Rajkumar Hirani himself... this is [the most] neat and credible way of getting something.” director, too. His technical brilliance speaks for itself. He’s a man of few words. But when it comes to a scene, he knows what he wants and he conveys that to his actors with a lot of clarity,” shares the 31-year-old.
Besides sharing screen space with Devgn, prepping and shooting also made Runway 34 an interesting experience. “For the first time, I was on a set with 12 cameras. Everywhere I looked, there was a camera (laughs). It also feels special that the film’s muhurat shot began with me and the last shot ended with me,” Singh says with a smile.
This Ramzan, the holy month of fasting and praying, was extra special for actor Gauahar Khan, as she got to visit Mecca with her husband, actor and content creator Zaid Darbar, for the first time. “It was my first visit with Zaid, and his first time there as well,” says the Begum Jaan (2017) actor.
The couple was thinking of Umrah (an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) ever since their marriage in December 2020, but the plans were kept at halt because of the pandemic. Now, a six-day trip finally happened.
“My family joined from Dubai and the UK, and Zaid’s family joined us from Mumbai,” Khan tells us, adding, “We all shared a lot of nice moments together. Doing sehri and iftar together, praying together. We made the most of it.”
Describing the special feeling of doing a pilgrimage during Ramzan, Khan says, “It’s a very personal time with the Almighty, you can’t really explain it.”
For her Eid plans, she is looking forward to family time. She says, “Now that I’m married, there are double celebrations. It’s all about food on Eid. We kind of celebrate all the days we fasted by eating a lot!”