The “Dangal” girls have been praised a lot for their performance in the Aamir Khan starrer flick and one of them is Sanya Malhotra who played the character of Babita in the film. It was Sanya’s debut movie and working with Mr. Perfectionist of Bollywood is definitely something big; however, she recently disclosed that she was never a fan of Aamir Khan before she worked with him.
Sanya opened up about her experience on working with Aamir in a recent interview. In her words,
“I became Aamir Khan’s fan after working with him. I used to like many actors. When I first met him, I thought I would be star-struck, but he was looking like Mahavir Phogat (his character in Dangal), and not how we are used to seeing him. In fact, Fatima (Sana Shaikh, co-star) and I clicked a photo with him after we began shooting.”
She was shocked to see around 100 girls waiting for their chance to give audition for the role, including Fatima, who was also seen in “Chachi 420”. When she was asked as to what she learnt while working with Aamir, she said,
“He is an institution. Just by being with him all these months, we learnt about film-making, editing, post-production and so much more. He is not only a good actor but also has knowledge about a lot of things. I have become a good human being [after working with him]. He is socially aware and does so much for people. And he doesn’t do it for publicity, but for the society.”
She also told about her experience when she was asked to come for the audition of “Dangal”,
“For some reason, I thought it’s a Kangana Ranaut film. I went to Delhi to surprise my mom on her birthday, and I got a call saying I have been shortlisted, and I have to meet Aamir Khan the next day.”
Girls were paired with many others to see which pair looks the best. Nearly after a month, Sanya was called and told that she and Fatima had been selected.
In response to the question of the toughest thing about playing Babita Phogat, she promptly said, ‘Wrestling’. In her words,
“The wrestling training was tough and our bodies used to ache a lot. It’s a contact sport, so I learnt about some muscles in my body, I didn’t know I had.”
She also praised the coach who gave them training of wrestling for the movie. Sanya dreamt of being an actor from a very young age as she was attracted towards the award shows; however, there have been many ups and downs in her journey. She said,
“I gave many auditions, yet I was jobless for three to four months. Finally, I got an ad and was paid Rs. 5000. It felt good but the experience was bad.”
She has also taken part in the dance reality show “Dance India Dance”.
We wish Sanya a bright future and hope that “Dangal” gives her the momentum she was looking for!
Image Source: Instagram