‘Parineeti and I were never friends’: Saina Nehwal on unfollow buzz and how she would’ve preferred Shraddha Kapoor to do her biopic | Bollywood News
Parineeti Chopra portrayed badminton star Saina Nehwal in the 2021 biopic Saina, directed by Amol Gupte. While the film underperformed at the box office, Parineeti’s performance was appreciated. The film resurfaced in conversations last month after the internet noticed that Parineeti no longer follows Saina on social media, even though Saina continues to follow her. In a recent interaction, Saina said she was largely unaware of it and believes it may simply be linked to the professional nature of their association during the film.
Speaking to Vickey Lalwani, Saina said she found out about the unfollow much later and didn’t attach much significance to it.
‘Parineeti and I were not friends’
“I didn’t even know that she had unfollowed me. I thought about it and felt that perhaps she was focused on the work — and once the film was done, she moved on to her next project,” she said.
Saina said that while Parineeti trained with her for the film, the two never developed a close friendship due to time constraints.
“Friendship requires spending a lot of time together, but there wasn’t enough time since the film had to be released quickly. We weren’t meeting every day. I helped her with skills — how to serve, movement on court, forehand and backhand. She may have also observed my behaviour and how I speak to portray it on screen. She worked very hard and performed extremely well. I even got emotional watching the film,” Saina said, adding that there was no disagreement between them.
“It’s not a big deal whether someone follows or unfollows you. There was no fight.”
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Saina praises Parineeti’s dedication
She also praised Parineeti’s dedication during training. “She was very serious. She was constantly asking how to serve, how to play forehand and backhand. She trained regularly in Mumbai with coach Shrikant Vad, and I used to get videos of her sessions from director Amol Gupte. Learning even basic badminton takes a year, but she tried to pick it up in four to five months. She did a very good job in the film,” Saina said.
‘Shraddha Kapoor is a very sweet girl’
However, when asked who she would prefer if her biopic were to be made again, Saina named Shraddha Kapoor. Notably, Shraddha was the first choice for the film and had undergone extensive training for the film. The actor had to opt out from the film due to health reasons.
“I think Shraddha Kapoor would be very good. She was the first choice for the film. We are still in touch and I’ve met her many times. She’s a very sweet girl. She had agreed to do the film but had to opt out due to dengue,” she shared.
Saina recalls spending two hours with Shah Rukh Khan
Saina also recalled meeting Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of Dilwale. “We played two or three points together. I was very happy to see that he likes badminton. Whenever he had free time he was playing in between the shots, so I also played a little with him,” she said.
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She described spending nearly two hours with him in his vanity van discussing his journey. “He spoke about his struggles and how he reached where he is today. We asked him how he stayed motivated when he didn’t have money, and he said he worked very hard. It was very inspiring. He was extremely down to earth and gave us his time. When we were leaving, he even walked us to the car and opened the door. He is very friendly and charming despite being such a big star,” she added.
When Amitabh Bachchan invited Saina for dinner
Recalling a visit to Amitabh Bachchan’s home, Saina said the veteran actor was deeply interested in her journey. “He asked me a lot about how I became a badminton player, especially since it wasn’t a very big sport earlier. He wanted to know what sparked my interest and how I built confidence. We spoke about sports and films, and also about Mary Kom and the Phogat sisters. It was a lovely conversation,” she said.
Saina also spoke warmly about her interactions with other actors. “I have met Ranveer Singh many times — he’s very down to earth. Deepika is also very nice. She once invited me for dinner and spoke about badminton the entire time. She loves discussing matches and sports,” she said.
