Sanjeeda Shaikh laughs at doing action in Dhamaal 4 while the men did comedy: 'Ajay Devgn set pe hain aur...'| Interview
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
Dhamaal 4 was a chaotic return to the franchise started by Indra Kumar almost two decades ago. The comedy actioner saw the return of franchise favourites Ajay Devgn , Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, and Jaaved Jaaferi, while also introducing new faces to the series. Among them was star Sanjeeda Shaikh , who found herself doing a bit of both action and comedy in the movie. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, Sanjeeda looks back on how she landed the role and her filming experience.
Adding to this, Sanjeeda Sheikh with Arshad Warsi and Jaaved Jaaferi in Dhamaal 4. Sanjeeda on ‘serious star’ tag Prior to Dhamaal 4, Sanjeeda had not dabbled in comedy. Her previous show before this was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s intense period drama Heeramandi. The star says the tag of ‘serious star’ followed her after this. “Dhamaal 4 happened to me because Indra sir (director Indra Kumar) called me, and he met me after watching Heeramandi. And unka pehla sawal tha ki ‘Aap toh bahut serious star hain (You are a very serious star),’ because Heeramandi was very serious.” Sanjeeda shared she told the filmmaker to give her a chance to show how funny she is. “I sat with him, and I think he heard me laughing—and I laugh like a man—so he shared, ‘Okay, this is fine.” And meri casting ho gayi (My casting was done,” she adds with a laugh.
Meanwhile, View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sanjeeda Shaikh (@iamsanjeeda)
Notably, Dhamaal 4 saw her share the screen with comedy veterans. The star felt she had to up her game and not stick out. “You are working and sharing the screen with Ajay sir, Arshad, Riteish; those people whose comic timing is such that they elevate the scene even without speaking. So, you have to up your game. My focus was on ensuring my character would not be lost, because this is an established franchise with beloved characters. I should not look out of place,” says Sanjeeda.
As per the latest buzz, In Dhamaal 4, Sanjeeda’s character does as much action as she does comedy. In fact, in many scenes alongside other veteran action stars, it was Sanjeeda’s character in the thick of things. “In all my scenes, if you've seen, there is action involved,” says the star, “Toh mujhe actually ullu banaya gaya, mujhe bola gaya tha ki comedy karni hai lekin mujhe action karwaya gaya. (I was actually fooled; I was told I had to do comedy, but they made me do action).”
In further updates, Sanjeeda says it became a joke on set that she was doing action scenes while Ajay Devgn, a veteran action star, was on set for the comedy bits. “Main sach se boloongi. Ajay Devgn set pe hain aur mujhse saare action sequences karwaye ja rahe hain (Ajay Devgn is on set, and I am doing all the action scenes). It had just become a joke on set.”
On top of that, Dhamaal 4 also starred Ravi Kishan, Sanjay Mishra, Upendra Limaye, Anjali Anand, and Esha Gupta. The movie opened to largely negative reviews but was lapped up by audiences. It has collected over ₹ 200 crore rupees worldwide, emerging as a box-office success.
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Movie Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times