I had a deeper connection with Sushant : Sanjana Sanghi

ne of Sanjana Sanghi’s favourite stories about herself, is how casting director Mukesh Chhabra spotted her performing on stage at her school in Delhi and asked her to ‘audition’ there and then. Only 13 then, the young girl made her debut in the world of films as Mandy in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar (2011). Smaller roles in Hindi Medium and Fukrey Returns followed, but it’s her first lead role opposite Sushant Singh
Rajput in Chhabra’s directorial debut, Dil Bechara, that’s brought her into the limelight once again.

The Indian adaptation of John Green’s bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars ended up becoming Sushant’s swansong, as the actor died by suicide in June this year. Ever since then, fans have been curious to know more about the leading lady, with whom the actor shared a wonderful working relationship.

Doing promotions without her co-star has been a somewhat strange and sad task for Sanjana, but like she says, it’s something Sushant would have wanted for her. With Dil Bechara streaming
now on Disney + Hotstar, the actress walks down memory lane to give us a glimpse of the kind of person Sushant was and also has a special message for the readers of Bollywood Insider and his fans across the world.

Had you read the book or seen its Hollywood adaptation before you were approached for Dil Bechara?

Oh absolutely! That damage was done back in 2014 itself when the Hollywood adaptation of the film released - I was the teenage TFIOS fanatic, who skipped school to go and watch the film and I’ve read the novel any number of times through my teens. I consider it a modern classic. When I was told I’ve been finalised as the Indian Hazel Grace Lancaster, it took me months to be able to absorb that fact!

While there is romance, you are also playing a cancer patient in this film. For your first big role, did that seem like a daunting task?

As an actor, there were several challenges that Kizie (her character) brought with her, but that’s what
made playing her the biggest honour I could get and that too in my debut film as a leading actor. She’s a Bengali girl suffering from a debilitating illness, someone who has learned a lot about life far beyond her years. For me, two aspects were what we call ‘hard facts’ in our training as theatre actors. I wanted that at no point should Kizie’s illness define her. I’d put a line up in my room “Make the oxygen pipe
invisible”. I wanted my audiences to first see a girl, so full of life, with so much love to give and then a girl who has also grown up with an illness that made her reality different from a regular teenager. I needed to
understand the emotional and psychological impact growing up with cancer could bring and I spent months with young cancer survivors at The Indian Cancer Society in Mumbai for the same. 
 
Secondly, I’m half Punjabi, half Gujrati, born and brought up in New Delhi. My director needed me to very simply ‘learn Bengali’, to be able to improvise with my screen parents on set. That sounds like a simple demand, but as an adult, learning a new language from the grammatical root meant months of
diction training and cultural immersion.

How did you break the ice with Sushant who was the bigger star here?

There was never a moment where there was any ice to break and that’s been a great gift. You meet some people in your life, where a project, or chance makes you cross paths, but you instantly know there’s a deeper connection there. Thankfully, the one thing I’ve never been is star-struck, even when I was 13 acting with Ranbir Kapoor. Sushant and I gridlocked at more levels than one. Our passion for cinema
was the foremost; however, we also had our tryst with academia - him and I both are very studious; we’ve both trained as dancers for a large part of our lives and we share a love for food. Also, we both were in love with the characters we were playing and the story we had to tell and that had us invested to the maximum.

What kind of talks did you share?

“You know there’s a writer named John Berger; he talks about perception?” He’d ask, and I’d say “Of
course, Ways of Seeing?”
“You know Yuval Noah Harari emphasises how technology is the future” He’d say, and I’d add “Absolutely, 21 lessons for the 21st century is my favourite book”. So, books - whether psychology, sociology, philosophy. 
It was our first reading together when my father called me home, saying we’d got a letter telling me I’d become a Gold Medalist at University. I remember Sushant’s happiness that day, he was ecstatic. He’d call me up to our hotel terrace to show me the stars through his telescope, but I’m personally not as
interested in the stars and galaxies. He’d see the twinkling stars, and I’d see his eyes twinkle, that passion was gripping.

Did it feel strange or sad to do the promotions all alone?

It’s everything that’s strange, sad, gutting, numbing - all these emotions that I don’t wish upon anyone, to go through, especially not any debutant who’s bringing her labor of love to the audiences. I wasn’t supposed to be doing any of this alone, neither Mukesh Sir. I’m only doing it because I want him to be smiling proudly every second as he looks over us.

Since the film released on an OTT platform, audiences across the world will be able to watch it. Do you think that’s an advantage?

When the pandemic hit early in March and showed no signs of slowing down, we knew theatres are going to remain shut for a long time. All of us in the team have been absolutely delighted since day 1, when we were told it’ll be reaching millions of people, across borders. For me as an artist, it’s about my art reaching people. Art is meant to save lives, give hope, give you an escape. In this world hit by the pandemic, we need it more than ever before.

Where does Sanjana go from here? Is there a long wish-list you have, in terms of roles or directors?

Sanjana’s never known where she’s going. If you’d have told a 13-year-old Sanjana she’s going to become Mandy in Rockstar, a small yet pivotal part that a decade after, people remember vividly, she’d have laughed at you. If you’d have told a 20-year-old Sanjana she’d be the leading lady in Disney’s Indian Adaptation of TFIOS, she’d have laughed at you.  All I know where I’m going is along a path of honest and
earnest work. I dream of a relationship with my audiences, where they know me and love me for
exactly who I am, where they see themselves in me - a child from nowhere just following dreams she
never even dreamt, and being able to give back a lot more, since I’ve been working in the field of education with underprivileged children for over 7 years now.

Do you have a message for readers of Bollywood Insider as well as your’s and Sushant’s fans in the USA?

To all our Indian and international fans alike, all I can say is that, finally, our labour of love has reached you. Kizie and Manny are no more mine to be possessive about, they now belong to every single member of the audience who have given them a new life with the love they have already showered. I’d urge them to turn any grief they have felt after Sushant left us, to convert that into hope and a celebration of his life, his work, our film, and our dream. It’s the least we can do.