Sharing a scene with Sridevi was unreal: Vani Sood

The newcomer talks about the “surreal experience” and the thrill of being in the same frame as the veteran star

Achance to work with Bollywood veteran Sridevi, and that, too, in her 300th project, is something that many would see as their dream debut. That dream came true for Delhi girl Vani Sood, who is part of Sridevi’s latest release, Mom, directed by Ravi Udyawar.

Aske her about how did it all happen and she says, “I was at home when I got a call from the casting director of the movie. He said, ‘Boney Kapoor is making a movie and you have been shortlisted as one of the friends (of Sajal Ali’s character) for it.’ I was shocked and surprised when I got to know that I’d be working alongside big names such as Sridevi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna, and Adnan Siddiqui,” says Sood.

Vani had earlier auditioned for a role in Dangal (2016). Though that didn’t work out, the casting agents had her contact details and had seen her work. That is how she made it to the Mom shortlist.

“I felt butterflies in my stomach, literally!” recalls Vani. “We shot two sequences — one in Shri Ram College of Commerce (Delhi) last year and the other one in Bangkok this year. The scene in Bangkok was a party sequence, picturised on Kooke Kawn, a song sung by Sukhwinder Singh with AR Rahman as the music director. It was one of the best memories of my life, something that will stay with me forever,” says Vani.

Asked to name the best part of being in Mom, Vani instantly says that it was when she shared a scene with Sridevi. She was thrilled when she got to know that her otherwise short role included a scene with the veteran actor. “I play Ritu, a friend of Sajal Ali’s character (Sridevi’s daughter on screen). We were filming a classroom scene, and when I saw Sridevi step into the classroom, it was unreal! I had to repeatedly tell myself that it wasn’t a dream; I was actually getting to work with the same woman who danced to ‘Hawa hawai’ in Mr. India (1987),” says Vani.

I had to repeatedly tell myself that it wasn’t a dream; I was getting to work with the same woman who danced to ‘Hawa hawai’ in Mr. India. VANI SOOD, ACTOR