Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar is all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Chandraprakash Dwivedi's Prithviraj. The film is based on the life and heroism of the fearless Prithviraj Chauhan. While Akshay will play the titular role, Manushi will be essaying the character of Sanyogita, the love of his life.
The director said that the team was looking for a gorgeous, strong and confident face and they found Manushi. Interestingly, Manushi auditioned for the role a couple of times.
"We wanted to be dead sure with this casting and she nailed it each time. She has been rehearsing six days a week since then and is being thoroughly groomed for the last nine months by Yash Raj Films (YRF),'' said Pinjar director.
Dwivedi added, "We auditioned a lot of young, fresh faces for the role because we were looking for a stunningly gorgeous Indian heroine. While Sanyogita was an incredibly beautiful person, she was also a strong, confident girl. We were looking to find someone who could match the magnetic persona of Sanyogita and we found that in Manushi."
Manushi said her life so far has been a fairy tale and she is now looking forward to her big debut. "I'm thoroughly happy and thrilled about the learnings that I will have through this journey. My life, so far, has really been a fairy tale. From becoming Miss India and then Miss World to now getting such a big project as my debut film, it's like a new, exciting chapter of my life," she said.
Manushi finds it a "huge responsibility" to play princess Sanyogita. "She was a powerful personality and she stood up for what is right and took the most important decisions of her life by herself. Her life is an extremely important chapter in Indian history and I will try my best to play her as accurately as possible," she added.
Prithviraj is being produced by Yash Raj Films. Chandraprakash Dwivedi is known to have directed the television epic Chanakya and controversial film Mohalla Assi besides National Award-winning Pinjar. It is scheduled to release on Diwali 2020.
Team Prithivraj did the muhurat puja before kickstarting the shoot. Sharing a video on Instagram, Akshay wrote, ''Here's to auspicious beginnings Stepping into the world of #Prithviraj. In theatres #Diwali2020! Need your love and best wishes as always. @manushi_chhillar #DrChandraprakashDwivedi @yrf''.
(With IANS inputs)
