Parineeti Chopra: Hot Trots Across The Egyptian Sands

Hello! pits a hot, on-the-go actress against the salubrious, mystical wonders of Egypt, to create a new alchemy... one we’re still marvelling at! Romancing the Sphinx
 

- Jeena J Billimoria

Let’s paint an image of the summertime in its most archetypal form. A young woman epitomises summer. But so does an ancient, glorious civilisation. Both are an invocation of a sun that shines. Glory basking in its own fire. Throw in a fair amount of sand, yes. On a mundane level, some heavy-duty sunscreen to keep you from marinating in your own juices, for sure… and then, just get engaged with all that unfolds. Which shouldn’t pose much of a problem if you’re in one of Africa’s largest cities – Cairo – and are gazing at one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the pyramids of Giza. Add to it the understanding that here you stand in awe, two millennia since it first came into existence, and you are simply a speck in the ocean of humanity who have stood in the very spot you inhabit now, as you cast a shadow of yourself dark enough to rival the very secrets these pyramids will never tell you.

Each layer of these beautiful structures is unique. Multi-faceted. Incomparable. Much like the woman who has just stepped out to pose for photographs against Egypt’s jewels. Parineeti Chopra doesn’t look tired or restless as she faces the camera for the first shot – she’s a thorough professional. She’s patient and understanding. That we can vouch for unstintingly, given the fact that she just got off a plane and rushed to this spot where we only have an hour to shoot. Under an unforgiving African sun, at high noon. We will not mince our words – it was a challenge. But not a word of complaint escaped from the gamine Parineeti’s glossy lips. Not a shred of star attitude; not a single eccentric request. Parineeti stares straight into Abheet Gidwani’s camera without so much as an accidental blink and gives us the visual poetry we seek.