Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 19, 2018)

After months of scouting for a leading lady to step into Hazel Grace Lancaster’s shoes for the Hindi remake of Josh Boone’s 2014 Hollywood romantic drama, The Fault In Our Stars, the makers have zeroed in on Sanjana Sanghi, who was seen in brief roles in Rockstar, Hindi Medium and Fukrey Returns. The 21-yearold actress will pair up with Sushant Singh Rajput, who had been fi nalised last October, in her big Bollywood break.

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who will be making his directorial debut with the film, confirmed the news to Mirror, saying, “I met Sanjana while casting for Rockstar and found her to be a dynamic girl with great energy. After a few years, she reconnected for a few ad jobs and this time she came across as a mature young lady and to my surprise, a fabulous actor. I knew instantly that I would love to make a film with her one day. Once The Fault in Our Stars script was ready, she fit right in. She’s the perfect face and I can’t wait to create magic with this talented girl.”

Based on a bestselling novel of the same name by John Green, the film revolves around Hazel, a 16-year-old cancer patient who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she meets and subsequently falls in love with Augustus Waters, another cancer patient who has lost a leg to bone cancer.

Rucha Pathak, chief creative officer, Fox Star Studios, that is producing the film, informed that Mukesh had called her one day to meet Sanjana. “She has a striking yet innocent personality but her screen-test really caught my eye. She nailed her audition and we knew right away she was our leading lady. We’re looking forward to launch her,” Rucha asserted.