Jawan actress Aaliyah Qureishi aka Jhalli opens up on her stupendous film debut and working with Shah Rukh Khan.
In Shah Rukh Khan’s gang of girls in Jawan, debutant Aaliyah Qureishi aka Jhalli plays Jahnvi. The actress, who has managed to be part of Shah Rukh Khan’s biggest film in her very first time in front of the camera, shares her experience of working on the film in an exclusive chat with DNA. The performer talks about her fears and inhibitions about the films, getting life lessons from Shah Rukh Khan, and finding friends and mentors in the ‘Jawan girls’.
Ask Aaliyah if she has stopped pinching herself about Jawan’s hype and she says, “When I saw myself for the first time in the theatre, I freaked out, I panicked. I screamed so loudly that everyone around me probable thought she must be really excited for the movie. It feels surreal. It has still not sunk in that it has happened.”
The craze the film has seen is new to Aaliyah, who is a newbie in the film world. It can be overwhelming for anyone, let alone for a debutant. She reveals that whenever she has felt nervous, her gang of girls from the film – Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan, and Girija Oak – have been there to fall back on. “In times like these, the Jawan girls have been my biggest support system because we have all gotten really close over the past two years. They are in the same boat as me. Every time I felt nervous or overwhelmed, I call them up. They are all so wonderful, warm, and wise. It’s rare to find that. I have been fortunate to have them to fall back on,” shares the actress.
As someone who ventured into acting from a background of singing and performing, the musical aspect of the film was very familiar but the action was new. Aaliyah shares, “Action was one of my favourite parts of the film. I never saw myself doing action when I thought of myself as an actor. We underwent stunt training with teams from all over the world. I trained in hand-to-hand combat, boxing, rifle training, and we even did some jumps. It was all such a rush.”
And of course, working with ‘the’ Shah Rukh Khan was a cherry on top, gushes the young actress. “He does a lot of his own stunts and he kills them. To have that dedication and discipline is amazing. That is one thing that I have taken from him, learnt from him. One day he was sick on sets and yet he still did some hardcore stunts. Between scenes, he was sick. But it does not bother him. He does not let anything from outside affect his work. It’s amazing, this God-like discipline,” she recalls.
Calling herself ‘lucky’ at being able to share screen with Shah Rukh in her first film itself, Aaliyah shares what she learnt from the superstar. “I feel so lucky to have that access where I could sit in front of the monitor and ask him questions. He is so welcoming and open that he would talk to you freely. I have asked him the most random things and he would always respond, chat with me for 10 minutes. Just to be getting life lessons from him in my first movie feels special,” she says.
