‘SEARCHING FOR SHEELA’ TRAILER
Bollywood actor Sanjana Sanghi started out playing secondary characters in films like ‘Rockstar’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri, ‘Hindi Medium’ with Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar and ‘Fukrey Returns’ with Varun Sharma and Richa Chadha. She was in school and early years of college when she started modelling and eventually played the abovementioned parts.
Casting directors like Mukesh Chhabra, who made his directorial debut with ‘Dil Bechara’ and featured Sanghi as the leading lady, has known her since she was 15 years old.
On her equation with Mukesh and other professionals in the casting area, Sanjana shared, “They have so many contexts in my life. It is beautiful. They have seen how I valued every audition and sent back the audition videos even if I had to shoot them in my school canteen. When they see that I have not changed as a person, they treat me the same way as they used to before ‘Dil Bechara’.”
“Yes, at one point, I would be asked to send audition tapes and would only meet a director if I was short-listed. Today, I get scripts from the same casting directors and called asking if a director can narrate something to me. Work has brought me thus far,” she added.
Sanjana further said, “When I look back, I feel proud that I have had a journey to get this far. Now I look ahead and feel energised to continue the journey further from this point. I always feel responsible for the love that has come my way. I have gratitude for it. It is the casting directors who placed their faith in me and saw the potential in me when I did not see it.”
“When Mukesh sir saw the potential in me while casting me for Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’, he made me discover a new side to myself. Today, I am aware that I have to do everything I can to ensure I do not let people down,” stated Sanghi.
Streaming giant ‘Netflix’ unveiled the first trailer for ‘Searching for Sheela’, an upcoming documentary about Ma Anand Sheela, the controversial one-time aide to spiritual leader Osho. A chapter in their story was previously explored in the ‘Netflix’ docuseries ‘Wild Wild Country’.
“With the focus entirely on Sheela and her personality, the film explores her journey through India and her big homecoming while reminiscing about her early life and looking forward to what is next. Does Sheela seeks redemption or remains completely unaffected? Was Sheela a criminal or a woman in love? Is Sheela good or bad, black or white?” read the description of the trailer. Executive producer Shakun Batra said, “I have always been very intrigued by Sheela’s extraordinary life. Through this documentary, we have shadowed her as she traveled to India after almost 35 years. This is not an investigative piece but just an observation of a person who has had a questionable past and has always lived life on her terms.”
“We trace her journey as she grapples with society’s expectations of an ex-convict and attempts to re-brand the public opinion of herself. ‘Searching for Sheela’ is a documentary that tries to get a closer look at one of the most sensationalised personalities in India,” he added.
Sheela herself said that the film will give viewers a glimpse of her ‘real self’, her ‘identity’ and her ‘life and its evolution over the last 40 years.’ The trailer also features a glimpse of Sheela’s interaction with Bollywood celebrities, including producer Karan Johar.
Sheela’s involvement in the ‘1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack’ was documented in ‘Wild Wild Country’. In 1986, she pleaded guilty and has since been living in Switzerland.
Two rival projects on her life are in the works - an ‘Amazon’ film starring and executive produced by Priyanka Chopra and another with Alia Bhatt attached, Shakun as its
director.
The Netflix film explores her journey through India and her big homecoming