The Rising Starlet

SANJEETA BHATTACHARYA RECALLS HER EXPERIENCE OF SHARING SCREENSPACE WITH SUPERSTARS SHAH RUKH KHAN, NAYANTHARA AND VIJAY SETHUPATHI 

- NAMITA GUPTA

There isn’t a soul in the world who wouldn’t jump at the chance to make a grand debut in a film starring the one and only Shah Rukh Khan. Musician and actor Sanjeeta Bhattacharya is one of the lucky few who stepped into a fairytale the moment she started working with the charismatic and legendary Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Jawan’, which was released worldwide in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Directed by Atlee, the film featured superstars from the South Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. Independent singer-song writer, graduated from Berklee School of Music, Sanjeeta made her mark alongside her girl squad making critics sit up and take notice

1: How did you get the offer to be a part of this huge film opposite SRK?

I was in Kolkata for my concert when I received a call for Jawan. A week later, in Mumbai, I auditioned nonchalantly without knowing much about the project. Soon I was told that I’d gotten through and the protagonist was SRK. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! It was a truly surreal moment.

2: How was your experience working with SRK?

It’s dreamlike. He is everything I was told he’d be – intelligent, witty, humble, relatable and generous with his art. Our conversations felt like speaking to a wise friend. I never thought I’d be sitting in a massive film set, dancing, singing and having coffee with SRK. Unbelievable! He made sure everyone on set was at ease. When he found out I am a musician, he brought in a guitar and mic on set the next day to have me sing for the cast. It was so thoughtful. He was everything I had heard of. From being startlingly intelligent, witty, extremely humble to being relatable and generous with his art form, here was a man who spoke like a wise friend. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I will have coffee, sing and dance with SRK. It felt like I was living a dream.