Only Hrithik Roshan leaves her star-struck
Sanjana Sanghi may have shared screen space with Bollywood’s biggest names from a young age, but she admits very few celebrities have ever left her star-struck. In a recent chat, the Dil Bechara actress revealed that while she’s always admired her co-stars, only one actor has the power to make her stumble — Hrithik Roshan.
“Actually, any filmmaker that you ask or talk to who I have even worked with when I was just growing up, like when I was 13 or 16, one thing I have never been is star-struck,” Sanjana said. “And it’s not that I don’t look at them with awe or think of them with awe, of course, I do. But somehow I don’t flutter and mutter and stutter when I see them. I think apart from Hrithik Roshan, there is no one who will have me kind of just stumbling and almost fainting.”
Facing the camera opposite Ranbir Kapoor as a teen
Sanjana, who made her Bollywood debut at 14 in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar as Mandy Kaul — the younger sister of Nargis Fakhri’s Heer — said her ability to stay calm helped her navigate intimidating situations. “And I think that is maybe what allowed me, at such a young age, to be able to handle those rooms. Because I was placed in rooms that were far beyond my age very early,” she recalled.
“Because otherwise, as a teenager, when you are suddenly placed in front of a film camera on an Imtiaz Ali set in front of Ranbir, you can really freeze, right?” she added, highlighting how keeping her cool kept her grounded.
How Kathak and debating built her confidence
The actress credited her training in Kathak and public speaking for helping her feel comfortable performing from a young age. “But I think my training, maybe as a Kathak dancer, always being on stage, always being a debater. So, I was always very confident with performance. I was confident in front of the mic,” she shared.
Sanjana also reflected on the biggest lesson from her early experiences: “But the only thing I learnt from it is that you don’t know how, when you are doing something, it will help you in life later. I think that’s the biggest learning.”
On the work front, Sanjana has an exciting slate ahead — she’s set to return with the sequel to her biking drama Dhak Dhak and is preparing for her much-awaited web series debut. She’s also exploring international projects and hopes to take on more comedy roles.