As told to Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 21, 2019)

After becoming a household name on TV with shows like Naagin and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, I waited to move to films, knowing it would happen only if something substantial came my way. When the casting director of Gold called me for the audition, though I was keen, the timing clashed with my schedule. However, since they were close by, she suggested I dash over during lunch break.

I went to audition draped in my mother’s cotton saree. It went well but I didn’t hear from them for the next two months. Then all of a sudden, I was called to meet Reema ma’am (Reema Kagti, director). I was so excited at the prospect of meeting an intelligent woman like her that I pushed the shoot of my show even though there was no guarantee that I would land the role.

After a brief chat, she took me to Akshay sir’s (Akshay Kumar) office. Imagine my surprise when together they chortled, “Welcome to Gold.” I was later told that I was playing a Bengali girl, Monobina Das, married to Akshay sir’s character Tapan. Being a Bengali helped, but the challenge was to play someone who isn’t fluent in Hindi. My mom’s Hindi is terrible and that came to my rescue. Talking to her helped me perfect my bad pronunciation.

I had multiple script reading sessions but being on the set was a different experience altogether. The set-up was completely different from TV. A lot of time went into setting up a scene. On the first day, I had to shoot for the song “Monobina” with Akshay sir and the entire hockey team. I was thrilled, excited and very nervous. I had met Akshay sir only once before and was quite starstruck. For my first shot, I had to just look at him and smile, but I couldn’t get it right. It was like my jaw was stuck!

Being a real gentleman, he came to my rescue, going out of his way to make me comfortable. After a while, my nervousness subsided and I was on the way…

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 27, 2019)

Some of our B-Town actors seem to be in the holiday mode. After Akshay Kumar’s London getaway to celebrate his 52nd birthday on September 9, Ayushmann Khurrana and Tahira Kashyap’s week-long detox break in Austria and sisters Kriti and Nupur Sanon’s US and Canada trip, on Wednesday, Mouni Roy took off to Thailand to ring in her birthday on September 28.

“Welcome to nimbu paani + sunshine & peace in abundance,” stated the actress upon reaching a five-star resort in Thailand’s Koh Kood island.

“Mouni is known to be a water baby and wanted to celebrate her big day at a beach destination. She wanted to go somewhere closer to the country. She took off with her best friends for a week and will begin promotions of Made In China upon her return to the Bay,” informs a source close to the actress.

The birthday girl gushes, “For me, birthdays mean you grow a year older and wiser. It’s that time of the year where I like to take time off with my close friends and family to rejuvenate, to be with myself and to introspect. I am loving this.”

The actress plays Rajkummar Rao’s wife in director Mikhil Musale’s Hindi directorial debut, which is a comedy revolving around a struggling Gujarati businessman and Mouni’s character, a Mumbai girl who moves to Ahmedabad and pushes her entrepreneur-husband towards success.

BOMBAY TIMES (September 24, 2019)

The audience got a glimpse of the song, Odhani Odhu Odhu Par Udi Jaye, at the recent trailer launch of director Mikhil Musale’s Made In China, starring Rajkummar Rao and Mouni Roy.

This isn’t the first time that the iconic Gujarati folk number, Odhani Odhu Odhune Udi Jaye, has been revisited. However, composers Sachin-Jigar, who have created the latest version, say that this is a modernised rendition, which will resonate with the youth.

Talking about the song, Sachin tells us, “Recreating an iconic song is always a huge responsibility. We have tried our best to retain the essence of the song, while making it palatable for the project and the audience.” Jigar adds, “Our aim is to make the song more relatable to the youngsters.”

The dance number, which releases today, has been choreographed by Vijay Ganguly, and it shows Rajkummar and Mouni set the dance floor ablaze. It has been sung by Neha Kakkar and Darshan Raval. With Navratri just around the corner, the makers hope that the redux version emerges as a festival favourite. “It’s a perfect track to kick-start the festive season. We hope that familiarity of this song, along with its contemporary twist, will make it a preferred choice for all generations during the festival,” Jigar says.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 13, 2018)

Mouni Roy, who rose to fame with Ekta Kapoor’s TV show Naagin and recently graduated to the big screen with Gold, is retracing her TV roots with Ankita Lokhande, of Pavitra Rishta fame, another Ekta show, who is currently shooting for her Bollywood debut, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.

The duo shot for a special number for the Ganesh Utsav special episode of the TV show Shakti: Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki. While Mouni performed on the song “Ram Chahe Leela” from Goliyon Ki Raas Leela: Ram-Leela, Ankita danced to the film’s “Nagade Sang Dhol” song and “Gajanana” from Bajirao Mastani. The festive sequence is shot at a hospital where the show’s leads, Harman (Vivian D’sena) and Soumya (Rubina Dilaik), are being treated for memory loss.

“I’m super excited to be on the sets of Shakti, doing what I love the most. I jump at every opportunity I get to dance and immerse myself completely in rehearsals. This set took me back to the days when I used to shoot for Mahadev at the same studio. TV is like home, I’ll keep coming back to it. I’ve always said that I’m a proud TV actress,” Mouni concluded.