‘They tried to make Aishwarya Rai look real, but…’: Randeep Hooda says he bonded more with Sarabjit Singh’s family than his iconic co-star

Randeep Hooda recalled working with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on Sarbjit, but said that he bonded more strongly with Sarabjit Singh's family.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | March 21, 2024 11:19 AM IST

2 min read

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Randeep Hooda worked together in Sarbjit.

Actor Randeep Hooda looked back on his experience working with Aishwarya Rai, on the film Sarbjit, and said that while they didn’t share too many scenes, she was a very sincere presence on set. He also said that despite everybody’s best efforts to make Aishwarya look plainer than she does in real life, they weren’t quite successful. Directed by Omung Kumar, Sarbjit is a 2016 biopic of Sarabjit Singh, who was convicted of terrorism and espionage in Pakistan.

In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Randeep said that he formed a close bond with Sarabjit’s sister, who was played in the film by Aishwarya. “She was great, very courteous, she does her job well. She’s all there, she’s very sincere about it. Although we didn’t have many interactions on set because a lot of my scenes were away from her, but whenever we did, she was all that she’s made out to be.” He added with a smile, “They tried their best to make her look real, but she’s so unreal.”

Also read – Emraan Hashmi says his comment on Aishwarya Rai being ‘plastic’ was ‘in jest’: ‘Never been apologetic’

About the bond that he developed with Sarabjit’s family, Randeep said, “While making the movie, more than Aishwarya, I formed a great bond with Sarabjit’s sister. She has passed away now, and her desire was that I come and give fire to her funeral pyre, which I did. I wish I had more time with her, she was a great lady, and she really looked after Sarabjit’s kids. They’re all well settled, I’m in touch with them. That movie had a real-life impact.”

Randeep is now gearing up for the release of Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, his controversial biopic of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Hindu nationalist better known as Veer Savarkar. The film was originally supposed to be directed by Mahesh Majrekar, who departed due to creative differences with Randeep. The actor subsequently took over as director, making this his directorial debut.

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