Saiee Manjrekar Exclusive Interview: “It’s An Absolute Honour To Work With Salman Khan”

Mohnish Singh |Dec 22, 2019

Saiee Manjrekar, daughter of well-known actor and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, makes her silver screen debut opposite Salman Khan in “Dabangg 3”.

Saiee Manjrekar is the latest star-child to enter the glitzy world of Bollywood. Daughter of well-known actor and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, Saiee Manjrekar makes her silver screen debut opposite none other than Salman Khan in Dabangg 3. While some actresses wait for years to work with Khan in a movie, the newcomer has got that chance in her first film itself. Saiee Manjrekar feels she is fortunate to have done her debut film with the superstar.

Saiee-Manjrekar

A few days before the theatrical release of the film, STARBIZ sat down with Saiee Manjrekar for a candid conversation. In this interview, the debutante talked in detail about working with superstar Salman Khan, how her casting in Dabangg 3 happened and if she was nervous about sharing the screen space with much senior Khan. The actress also opened up about how her theatre experience helped her during the shoot and favourite films of her father. Excerpts…

You are a new entrant in the Dabangg franchise. How excited or nervous are you?

I am very excited and, at the same time, a little bit nervous too.

Was it pre-planned that you would make your silver screen debut opposite a big star?

(Smiles). No, it was not pre-planned, but I consider myself extremely lucky that it just happened. It is an honour to work with such established actors in my debut film.

How did you end up being a part of Dabangg 3?

I had interest in acting since my childhood. In college, I had chosen theatre as a subject. One fine day, I went to my parents and told them that I wanted to pursue acting as a career. Soon, they started looking for scripts for me. One day, I got a call saying that the makers of Dabangg 3 were considering me for an important character in the film. If you see, the character of Khushi is very pure and innocent. Salman sir had seen that purity and innocence in me. That’s why he considered me for the role.

Could you please elaborate on your character in the film?

As I said, Khushi is a lovely, innocent girl. She is very simple. She is the first love interest of Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan). They share a very beautiful and innocent relationship. To a certain extent, Khushi is responsible for how you have been seeing Chulbul Panday all these years in Dabangg and Dabangg 2. There is a backstory which you will see in Dabangg 3.

Your father, Sanjay Manjrekar, himself is an eminent actor and filmmaker. When you shared your dream of becoming an actress with him, what kind of advice and suggestions came from his side?

Papa was indeed very happy for me when I told him that I wanted to be an actress. What all he said to me in that moment was to keep working hard, because there is no substitute to hard work. Besides that, Papa has always told me that acting is reacting to different situations. I kept that advice in my mind and followed it thoroughly while working on Dabangg 3.

He had once shared a saying with me, which is still there in my mind, that if you want to leave your footprints on the path that you walk on, you have to keep walking. You cannot do so by sitting at one place. That saying somehow remained in my mind all these years. There are many other advices that he has given. I’ll keep them in mind forever.

How has been your experience of working on Dabangg 3?

If truth is to be told, it was a far better experience than what I had thought. It was a very family-like atmosphere on the sets of the film. Overall, it was an amazing experience. It will always remain very close to my heart.

There is a long list of actresses who just dream of romancing Salman Khan in a film. But you got that opportunity in your debut film itself. What do you have to say on that?

It is an absolute honour for me that I am getting to do my first film with him. I feel I am very fortunate. During the course of the film, I have also got an opportunity to learn a lot of things from him. He is very hard working, so I feel really inspired to see him work so hard. Even after reaching the pinnacle of his career and having everything, he is putting in so much efforts in each and everything that he does. That really inspires to we work hard in life.

Did you feel nervous while shooting with him?

I was most comfortable working with him, because I have known him since childhood, so that comfort level was there. I was nervous because it was my first film. But by the time, we finished shooting for the film, that nervousness had disappeared.

Which is your favourite film of your father?

I loved his work in Kaante (2002). When it comes to direction, I like his film Vaastav (1999) a lot.

How did your theatre background help you during the filming of Dabangg 3?

A lot! Before I started doing theatre, I had stage fear. But once I started doing theatre, my fear for stage disappeared. It helped me polish my dialogue delivery and all. I also learnt a lot of technical stuff while doing theatre. All of that did help me on the sets of Dabangg 3.

What are your plans after Dabangg 3?

There is no plan as such. I am going with the flow.

Your father has directed and acted in several successful Marathi movies. Would you be interested in exploring Marathi cinema if something interesting comes your way?

If interesting scripts come my way, then why not!