Sanya not a gold-digger

Director Anurag Basu, who is known in the industry for never handing over a script to his actors, was apparently apprehensive whether Sanya Malhotra (who played the older version of the younger daughter, Babita Kumari, in the 2016-sports drama Dangal) would sign on the role if she perceived her character to a gold-digger.

But like many others in the cast, though Sanya was a tad clueless about what her role exactly was in the film and what she was supposed to do next in the absence of a script in hand, she had faith in her director. “This was the first time any director had told me not to prepare or do any kind of homework before coming on set. But whenever we felt confused, we looked at Dada (Anurag) for directions because he was the captain of the ship, and it was a really refreshing journey for me as an actor,” says Sanya.

Talking about her role in the film, Sanya, however, clarifies that she wouldn’t call the character a ‘gold-digger’. “The character, however, has a clear picture of what she wants — the kind of guy to marry, the designer lehenga or jewellery she wants to wear, etc. So I might call her ‘particular’ about things because ‘gold-digger’ has such a negative connotation to it,” says Sanya.

Last seen in the OTT release Shakuntala Devi where she played Vidya Balan’s daughter, Sanya has also recently signed on a new film with Vikrant Massey. Additionally, she will be seen in the Umesh-Bisht directorial, Pagglait, produced by Guneet Monga and Ekta Kapoor.