NEW DELHI, April 19: Actor Naila Grewal, one of the four leads in “Ishq Vishk Rebound”, says their version of the movie will tell a relatable story about modern relationships while retaining the “essence” of what made “Ishq Vishk” stand out.
The 2003 college romance drama made stars out of Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao, and Grewal is hopeful that the new movie will speak to the youth in a similar manner.
“When the first ‘Ishq Vishk’ came out, it was such a cult film. Everyone gravitated towards it. Firstly, it was that ‘chocolate boy’ image of Shahid Kapoor that we all fell in love with. And then the songs, dance sequences and the essence of college romance, all of it was so fun and exciting,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
“Being able to bring this charm back but with a new twist of modernity (is what the new film is about). What couples and youngsters are going through in relationships in today’s age has changed. We are bringing all of this into this film and I hope people will gravitate towards our version,” she said about the movie that also features Pashmina Roshan, Rohit Sharaf and Jibraan Khan. Grewal is currently basking in the success of Netflix comedy series “Maamla Legal Hai”, which has been renewed for a second season by the streamer.
In the show, headlined by Ravi Kishan, she plays the role of Ananya Shroff, a Harvard educated lawyer who finds herself befuddled by the ground realities of the Indian judicial system.
The popularity of “Maamla Legal Hai” has been humbling, said the Delhi-born actor, who studied at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) before branching out as an actor.
“I honestly feel very humbled and ecstatic at the same time. People have watched it four-five times and I feel the show has the capacity of constantly being watched on repeat. That means it has made a special place in people’s hearts. It provides the message but it doesn’t do it in a very preachy way. I think it fills all the right boxes,” she added.
Grewal said she found her character in the legal comedy to be similar to who she is as a person and she found it easy to get into the headspace of the character.
“It helped me make Ananya more human. I didn’t want her to come as someone who is looking down on all these people because she is coming from this hoity-toity world. She had to look like she was here to make a difference. I tried to bring those elements from myself into the character.” Grewal made her acting debut back in 2015 with Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Tamasha’ which featured Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. Calling it a “turning point”, the actor said despite her involvement with dancing and theatre, she did not see herself on the screen before Ali’s film. “I never thought that I would be a film actor, that I would be in front of the camera but I always knew that being in front of an audience really fascinated me. The love for that started when I was four or five and the idea of performing arts as something that I wanted to do full time grew with age… Once I went on set of ‘Tamasha,’ I realised that maybe this is something I want to explore.” (PTI)
