MUMBAI MIRROR (November 9, 2017)

After directing innumerable hit music videos and producing several fiction and non-fiction shows, Ratnaa Sinha (wife of filmmaker Anubhav Sinha) makes her directorial debut with the family entertainer, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, featuring Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda and produced by Vinod Bachchan.

Touted to be an endearing small town tale of romance, the film features Rajkummar and Kriti paired opposite each other for the first time as Sattu and Aarti respectively.

Interestingly, Rajkummar was the first choice for Ratnaa once the script of her debut directorial venture was locked. She informs, “The minute I heard the story, I could only think of Rajkummar and nobody else came into my mind to play this role. It’s a tailor-made role for him. He (Rajkummar) is very open to good ideas.”

While Rajkummar is known to be a prolific performer and has portrayed all his characters with great aplomb, was there anything in particular that the filmmaker discovered while working with him? “He is very receptive to good stories and characters that are well etched out. And his conviction in the film eventually made the film happen. When we started shooting the first lip sync romantic song, he was a little hesitant since the songs are imaginary and do not belong to the real world. But when he saw himself on the monitor, he got convinced and performed with all his heart,” she explains.

Ratnaa feels privileged to have worked with Rajkummar in her debut film. “I was lucky enough to get a good actor who is also a good human being for my debut film. I was shooting with a thorough professional and also developed a friendly bond with him and that shows on the screen,” she says.

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana releases this Friday and is presented by Deepak Mukut and Soham Rockstar Entertainment. The film is a Soundrya Production, produced by Vinod Bachchan and written by Kamal Pande with Zee Music Company as the film’s music company.