Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 28, 2017)

Shweta Tripathi, who was last seen in Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor as a student involved in an affair with her teacher (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), has now landed the lead in an indie Hollywood film, The Illegal, featuring Suraj Sharma of Life of Pi and Phillauri fame.

According to a source, it’s a gritty, realistic story of illegal immigrants working in a Los Angeles restaurant. Suraj is one of them and Shweta plays Mahi, his sister, who encourages him to believe in himself and follow his dreams. “Mahi’s a self-assured girl and becomes the backbone of the family during trying times,” the source says.

Shweta confirmed the news, saying, “I love working with people from different parts of the world. I met the editor, Danish Renzu, at a film festival and we’ve been trying to team up on a project. There was an issue with scheduling, but when he told me about The Illegal I blocked my dates.”

The shoot began on her birthday, July 6. They have filmed in Los Angeles and Delhi and are now expected to return to the US for the wrap. Shweta, who’s seen all of Suraj’s films is gungho about her co-star. “He’s a gifted actor and a wonderful person. There was a lot of Delhi bonding happening between us,” laughs the actress, who will be next seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Zoo, directed by Shlok, which is India’s first feature to be shot on an iPhone.