Calcutta girl Neha Panda, now a resident of Versova, Mumbai, sent the girls (and a few boys too) on her Facebook friend-list into a tizzy on Monday morning. The stylist and actor shared that she was shooting with VIRAT KOHLI! We, of course, had to call her!
The t2 girl gang is super jealous! What are you doing with Virat Kohli?!
(Laughs out loud) I am shooting with Virat Kohli (pauses) Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers. Day before yesterday I shot with Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa. This is for IPL… for Reliance Jio. I am styling two teams… Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. We are shooting all over India for all the teams. This is my first major Bombay assignment!
How is the shoot going?
All the cricketers are in their jerseys. I am just helping with their looks… hair kaise rahega. I am also styling the dancers and the crowd. These should be out within a week.
What was Virat Kohli like?
He had a personal stylist. She asked me about the look, whether it’ll be indoors or outdoors. I just introduced myself. He is very cool! What a cool dancer! Sab log dance kar rahein hain. He learnt the steps. He is really fun. No hassle. Dhoop mein khara kar diya unko… koi complain nahin kiya… he was chilling… masti kar rahey thhe…. Very cool guy!
It’s just been a month since you shifted to Bombay and this is a wow assignment!
I know, right? Moved into a new city and getting this… really, really, really good.… This is my first assignment and it’s just so cool. (Laughs)
I am really happy! Things are falling into place.
What were the Knights like?
Sabse cool hai Yusuf Pathan! Gautam Gambhir was actually very gambhir! (Laughs) They had to dance and no one apart from Virat Kohli is actually a dancer. He’s a tremendous dancer!
So moving out of Calcutta was a really good move?
It was! And I felt it. Every time I wanted to move, I was like nahin hoga. But then andar se you feel that positiveness… I was like ‘f*** it! Mujhe jana hai!’ If I don’t go now, when will I? I was just waiting for The Bongs Again (the Anjan Dutt film where she played Sara) to release. The moment that released, I shifted.
As an actor I was working… but stylingwise… wohi faces, wohi actors… they don’t want to change their look… wohi kurta pehna do Fabindia se laake. I was bored of doing the work that I was doing for the last five years. That’s the reason I did not take up any assignments. I was travelling for the last one year. I was so broke by the end of the year! I was like ‘s***! I am broke in Calcutta!’ I did not have the money to pay the rent. Being broke in Calcutta is really a shame after working in Calcutta for that long. I was like if I have to be broke, I’d rather be broke in Bombay.
I started to get good auditions after Tata Tea, that I shot for in December. I was like how many auditions do I do in Calcutta? Everything just fell into place.
What is Bombay teaching you?
I was partying for the last one month. Then I realised I should go and look for work! The day I asked for work, the next day I got work. Really cool! They say Bombay mein itna kaam hai… literally aisa hi hua! I have never liked Bombay before. This time I am feeling positive. Everything feels great right now. I am also getting more acting assignments. My CV has to be really strong. You have to have national assignments.
Aren’t you missing Calcutta?
I was in Calcutta recently for the KKR shoot… for two days. We were shooting in ITC. We were staying in JW Marriott. We also shot under the Howrah bridge. It was a weird feeling to put up in a hotel in Calcutta!
Saionee Chakraborty
