‘Winning is not important’

Sanya Malhotra who will be seen as wrestler Babita Kumari in Aamir Khan’s next, talks about how close the character is to her life

Actor Sanya Malhotra (right), who is seen as wrestling champion Babita Kumari in Aamir Khan’s upcoming film, based on the life of wrestler Mahavir Phogat, says she is not like her reel character, in real life. “I am not a competitive person in real life like wrestler Babita Kumari. I am a rather focused person who is doing something and trying to get satisfaction out of it. Winning however, is not so important for me,” says Sanya.

However, she says she relates well with the character of Babita. “Like Babita, I am also the youngest in the family and I share a very special bond with my father. So I found an emotional connection there,” she says. During the preparation for the role Sanya went through a lot of videos of the wrestler to get her body language correct along with heavy physical training for learning the technical aspects of the game.

So, what happened when she finally met Babita in real life? “I was in awe... I was starstuck. They (Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari) are real heroes, they are the champions. We were watching their videos and then meeting them in real, was surreal. Babita even came during our training session,” she says.

While working with Aamir has been very special, Sanya says she has got a very special gift from the film. “I have made Fatima (co-actor Fatima Sana Shaikh) as my lifetime friend. Working for two years on the film, we bonded over many things. I genuinely love and respect her as a performer,” says Sanya.