Actress Sanya Malhotra, who plays wrestling champion Babita Kumari in Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s upcoming film “Dangal”, says she is not very competitive in real life.
“I am not a competitive person in my real life, unlike the wrestler Babita Kumari. I am a rather focused person who is doing something and trying to get satisfaction out of it. Winning is not so important for me,” said Sanya.
However, she relates well with the character of Babita.
“Like Babita, I am also the youngest in the family and I share a very special bond with my father. So I found an emotional connection there while narrating the character,” she said.
“Dangal” is a biographical sports drama which tells the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, who taught wrestling to his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari.
During the preparation for the role, Sanya went through a lot of videos of the wrestler to get her body language correct along with heavy physical training for learning the technical aspects of the game.
So, what happened when she finally met Babita in real life?
“I was in awe… I was star stuck. They (Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari) are real heroes, they are the champions. We were watching their videos and then meeting them in real, was surreal. Babita even came during our training session,” Sanya said.
While working with Aamir and director Nitesh Tiwari has been very special, Sanya said she has got a very special gift from the film.
“I have made Fatima (co-actor Fatima Sana Shaikh) as my lifetime friend. Working for two years on the film, we bonded over many things. I genuinely love and respect her as a performer,” said Sanya.
