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bollygraph, ddlj, karan bhatia, miss india, neha, romance, simran mundi, sunni gill
Simran Kaur Mundi was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe 2008 and was India’s representative at Miss Universe 2008. After that, she plunged herself full-time into modeling until she was approached to star in the recently released Jo Hum Chahe. Simran talks exclusively about this.
Your debut movie released last Friday…what state of mind were you in before the release?
Oh my God! I was actually excited, thrilled, nervous, anxious…it was like a mix of all emotions that I was experiencing…I never ever thought that I would feel like this about anything before. And actually, I was looking forward to the sixteenth and also when I used to think of it my heart used to start beating so fast! It’s crazy!
What is Jo Hum Chahe about? Tell us something about your character.
The title tells exactly what the movie is about. Jo Hum Chahe is about what the youth aspires to be today. It’s about these two characters, Rohan Bhatia and Neha Kapoor, who are completely opposite. Rohan is cocky, brash, self cerntered, he is ghamandi…in short he is everything that Neha does not want in a guy. Neha on the other hand is very focused, very levelheaded, she knows what she wants in her life and she is not ready to compromise on anything. She believes in relationships but has never given any guy a chance because she doesn’t like there romeo-chaap ladkes and for her there is one Mr. Right and he will come in her life one way or the other just like Simran from DDLJ.
How much of Neha is Simran?
Actually, quite a lot. I could so relate with the character and it’s uncanny how similar we are. She is levelheaded, I am. She knows what she wants, I do too. She is focused so am I. So we are quite similar in a lot of aspects . As far as relationships are concerned I also believe in them and don’t like the brash kind of men.
Romance has always been the favorite genre of Bollywood. So how is Jo Hum Chahe different from other Bollywood romantic movies?
You are right. We have all grown up watching romantic films and like many others I am a romantic at heart. The best part about Jo Hum…is that it’s approach to a romantic film is very different. It’s not like the usual romantic films; it’s not like the boy falls in love with a girl type of movie. It’s got its own freshness; it’s very new and very young. When I read the script I loved it because more than anything, the story is just amazing. Overall it’s shot very beautifully.
Music plays an important part in the success of a Bollywood movie, especially if it’s a romantic one. Tell us about the music of this film…..I also noticed that you have kept one of the songs as your caller tune.
Yes! That’s my favourite song! I love the music of this film. All five songs are very different from each other. There is a party song – full on energy – if I want to go to a party I want to hear that song – it’s a full on party number. There is Peepri which is again a party number but it’s very interesting because it is like a face off between the two characters; it’s like, you know, the girl is like “Hah! Hawa aane de!” So there is nice banter between the two characters. I like that song. I really like the sad song Abhi Abhi because although I have heard many sad songs in the past I don’t think any sad song has dealt with dil tootna at that very moment. So it’s about how you feel, what emotions you go through when your heart just breaks. One More One More is an amazing engagement song which my mom and everybody else in the family totally love and I love the lyrics too. But my favourite song is Ishq hoton Se – it’s a love song. The reason is very personal – it’s my first ever love song. I have always wanted to have a love song and I finally got one! It’s beautifully shot and very dreamlike.
There’s a general opinion that Beauty queens definitely foray into movies. So how did acting happen to you. Was that something that you always wanted to do or you thought it was the next logical step after your title.
Miss India again just happened to me and it wasn’t planned. I always thought that I could never be a Miss India because for me Miss Indias were like hoor parees, they were like untouchables and I am like a normal middle class girl. So I never really
thought that I was cut out to be a Miss India. But when the makers approached me I was selling tickets at Imax Adlabs and that’s where they spotted me and asked me to participate and after that I took it as a destiny’s call that I was meant to be a model and so I gave my hundred percent to my ramp. I think that sometime or the other every person who watches a movie feels that maybe he/she was like the character on screen and could have been that person. I felt that too but I never really got a very good offer come my way. I took modeling so seriously that I was actually planning to move to London to pursue international modeling. But then I read the script and auditioned for this movie. So it happened by chance but I feel I was meant to be here.
How was the experience? Were there any special preparations which you did?
The experience has been simply amazing! I have actually grown as a person and grown a lot. The emotions that Neha Kapoor experiences through her life journey are some which I have not experienced ever before. So it was a challenge for me as it is not every day that a girl of my age experiences those emotions. I had a great director. He was very precise and knew what he wanted. It was challenging and fun but it’s been a great journey and I have learnt a lot but mentally and emotionally.
Any particular incident from the movie which you remember?
We were in Alibaug shooting a jet-ski sequence and Sunny was riding the jet-ski and I was sitting behind him. He tells me to grab him tightly and I tell him that yes. I am. I don’t know what got into him that he drove the jet-ski very fast and just spun it. I didn’t realize what happened and fell off the jet-ski! My producers and director came running towards me. My legs had cuts and I was bleeding. The others were tensed but I was pretty much ok! I mean, how many people get to fall of a jet-ski!!
Tell us about your co-star Sunny. How was it working with him?
Sunny is a great person to work with. He can get difficult at times but if you don’t tick him off he is a sweetheart. He has actually helped me a lot as an actor. I joined a workshop before the shoot and that is how I came to know him. You feel you have figured him all out and the next day you see a different side of him. I am still figuring him out.
We had a small chat with Sunny and he admitted that you two are going out….
Oh my God! Did he?! (laughs) No! That’s not true! He said that? We are just good friends, in brackets! No, no, there’s nothing.
If one was to ask you to give three reasons to go and watch this movie what would they be?
First of all the freshness, its uniqueness and even though one has seen many romantic movies, the way this movie has been treated is different. It has a very nice story. My second reason would be that it’s a story about chasing dreams and ambitions the youth wants today. The third reason would be to go watch the movie for Sunny and me!
Thank you for talking to us.
Thank you.
*This article was originally featured in Bollygraph.com . You can read the article here *