Suhas Yellapantula (BOMBAY TIMES; February 14, 2020)

It’s Valentine’s Day and love is definitely in the air when we catch up with Shriya Saran at a studio in Hyderabad. She may be four thousand miles away from her husband of almost two years, but mention his name and she still blushes like a new bride. “I am in the happiest phase of my life and all credit goes to Andrei Koscheev,” she gushes, speaking of her hubby, a Russian tennis player and entrepreneur based in Barcelona.

Having moved to the Catalonian coastal city to live with Andrei, away from the hustle-bustle of Mumbai, Shriya says she has discovered a whole new side to her. She’s pursuing new hobbies, reigniting her love affair with dance and is on a quest to fulfill her insatiable thirst for travel. The actress, who’s been hitherto hushhush about her private life, opens up for the first time about her marriage. Excerpts:

You look happier than ever before. Are you enjoying married life?
Yes, I’m very happy. God has been kind and I’m blessed to have such a supportive partner like Andrei. I somehow like the word partner more than husband. Because Andrei is like my partner-in-crime, partner-in-fun and everything else. He’s really proud of me and my work. Whenever I’m stressed or worried about what I’m doing, he always tries to calm me down. He’s the best thing that’s happened to me and I’m loving every minute that I spend with him.

You’ve always been tight-lipped about your private life and that hasn’t changed after marriage. In fact, your wedding itself was very hush-hush and you promptly shot down reporters who asked you about Andrei. But you’ve slowly started opening up about your relationship to the outside world, be it by posting his pictures on social media or attending Ramesh Taurani’s Diwali party together in Mumbai last year. What changed?
I felt like there were too many negative comments going around. People would say stuff like, ‘Why are you marrying a white boy?’, ‘Couldn’t you find someone here?’, etc. But when you fall in love, you fall for the person he is and not where he comes from or what he does. And that’s what happened with me. Yes, I’ve always been quiet about my personal life and I’ve never really spoken about what I was doing apart from work. That’s because I’m a very private person outside of work. Of course, I’m a happy-go-lucky person, I have a lot of friends and I love people. But we all have a right to personal life. But yes, now, little by little, we’re slowly talking about each other publicly. It’s just so happened that I wanted to post a picture and in all the pictures, he was there. So I told myself, ‘Let us start with one’. We both were very nervous about it. Because if you’re on social media, you will get 90 bad comments and maybe 10 good ones. I told myself, ‘Concentrate on the positive and don’t bother about the negative’. After a while, I reached a stage, where I could tell myself, ‘Don’t concentrate on anything. You like a picture, just go ahead and post it’. In my case luckily, 99 per cent of the comments were good and only two-three were bad. So I thought to myself, maybe it’s not so bad after all.

Tell us more about your love story. Where did you first meet Andrei?
I’m not too comfortable going into the details, but yes, my love story with Andrei is beautiful and magical. We first met while I had gone diving in Maldives. He didn’t even know who I was when we first met. It was only later that he found out I’m an actress. A few months after we met, he asked me, ‘Do you have a movie online?’ and I said, ‘Yes I do’. So then, he went ahead and watched it. That was really sweet.

What’s the most romantic thing Andrei has done for you?
One gesture of his that surprised me the most was when he once took me to St Petersburg. I had shot for a song with Mahesh Babu there for Arjun (2004). Obviously, he didn’t know about this — or so I thought. When I reached St. Petersburg, he picked me up in his car and he took me to all the places where I shot and he kept asking me, ‘Do you remember?’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t remember anything’. And then he started laughing and said, ‘You shot at all these places’. I was stunned and asked him how he knew this, and he replied, ‘Because I saw it’. That was the cutest thing he had done.

Ever since you got married, you’ve been shuffling between Mumbai and Barcelona. What’s that been like?
I love Mumbai... India is where part of my heart lies. Everytime I come back home, I gorge on paranthas and dosas and it makes me happy. I simply love Indian food. But I’m a completely different person when I’m in Barcelona. There’s no make-up and I get to walk around in shorts, without worrying about how I look or what I’m wearing. We live in the central part of the city, so I get to walk around everywhere. I have a foldable bicycle, so everyday I take it out and cycle around town. It’s great fun. I have a problem with directions a bit, whenever I want to turn right, I go left (laughs). And Barcelona has a completely different driving style. I do a lot of yoga and I’m learning Spanish. So I’m doing a whole lot of things that I really love. But I do love India and I get excited whenever I come here for shoot. So, I’m currently enjoying the best of both worlds.

Married to a businessman from St Petersburg and based in Spain, Shriya Saran returns to Bollywood for a special song
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 23, 2019)

In the grand tradition of ‘actors go an extra mile for their work’, Shriya Saran recently flew down from St Petersburg to Mumbai to shoot a song for the upcoming romance comedy, Sab Kushal Mangal. The Drishyam actress, who married Russian businessman Andrei Koscheev on March 12, 2018, was visiting her in-laws in the Russian port city.

“I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since Andrei and I tied the knot!” Shriya exclaims and you wonder why she kept the shaadi so hush hush. Pat comes the answer, “There’s nothing to hide, but I like to keep my private life quiet and simple. My work is my bread and butter and my husband is very supportive; he would love me to do more work.”

The couple love deep sea-diving and it was during one of her trips to Maldives three years ago, that they met. The couple has recently moved to Barcelona for business and Shriya is quick to inform that after she turned 17 and started working, she doesn’t remember having lived in any city for more than two weeks. “But my base will always be Mumbai since my parents live here and I will always come down here or fly down South for work. I don’t want to lose my base in India,” she asserts.

Talking about the song, “Naya Naya Love” with Akshaye Khanna and Priyaank Sharma, the actress attributes it to her friendship with the producer, Prachi Manmohan. They know each other since the 2011 film, Gali Gali Chor Hai, which Prachi’s father Nitin Manmohan produced with Akshaye and Shriya. “It’s a peppy dance song and an important part of the narrative. It was great working with Akshaye after a long time,” smiles the actress, who is looking for interesting stories that turn into talking points.

Shoojit Sircar, who is currently shooting his first period film in St Petersburg, Russia, explains his choice of leading man and subject
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 30, 2019)

April 13, 1919, is a black day in Indian history. Under the orders of the acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, Michael O’ Dwyer, the lieutenant governor of Punjab, instructed his troops to fire at a crowd which had peacefully assembled in Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh on Baisakhi to condemn the arrest and deportation of two leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. According to the Indian National Congress, more than 1,500 were injured and over 1,000 people died. Many see this episode as the trigger for the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920–22, the first step towards the end of British rule. Commemorating the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in its centenary year, Shoojit Sircar has quietly kicked off his Udham Singh biopic with Vicky Kaushal in the titular role. The nationalist as part of the Ghadar Party, had mobilised Indians abroad to overthrow colonial rule. On his return, he was arrested for possession of unlicensed arms. Upon his release from prison, he escaped to Germany and then travelled to London. On March 13, 1940, he shot O’ Dwyer dead. He was convicted of murder and hanged at Pentonville Prison on July 31, 1940. The film showcases a significant contribution to the freedom struggle which has largely gone unnoticed. Shoojit started shooting in London, before moving to Russia. Speaking to Mirror from St Petersburg, the director reiterated that Udham Singh’s sacrifice is an important story for today’s audience. Excerpts:

This is a dream you’ve nurtured for years...
I heard the inspiring story when I was just out of college, doing theatre in Delhi. I came to Mumbai with the idea of making a film on it. I didn’t have the money or the courage or even a script. Now, with my writers Ritesh Shah and Shubhendu Bhattacharya, my friends Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar, and Vicky Kaushal, one of the most dynamic young actors today, and my years of experience, I want to bring this largely unknown revolutionary alive on screen. I’m both nervous and emotional.

Without his trademark beard and moustache was Vicky recognised on the busy streets of London as Major Vihaan Singh Shergill from Uri: The Surgical Strike?
He was recognised by the Indians there. The others liked his commitment. (Chuckles) I like that too, along with his dynamism and continued attempts to experiment with different roles like Masaan, a beautiful character and film. There’s a burning intensity and anger that I saw in his eyes during our first meeting itself, that convinced me he was the right man to play Udham.

He had an accident recently while shooting for his untitled horror film in Gujarat, when a door fell on him. He reportedly fractured his cheekbone. Did that hit your plans?
No, it didn’t affect us at all.

With Vicky stepping in for Irrfan Khan, did it necessitate any changes in the script?
None. The film is based on Udham Singh’s life, particularly one event which we had already researched. Since Vicky is from Punjab, a Sikh family, it’s a huge responsibility for him too.

Manoj Kumar once confided that when scripting his 1965 Shaheed on the sets of another film, his leading lady had asked him what he was writing. He’d told her he was writing about Bhagat Singh and asked her if she knew who he was. “Of course, he’s a daku,” she replied, and that day he decided he was going to make a film on the martyr so that no one would ever mistake him for a dacoit again. Did the Udham Singh biopic spark off similar reactions?
Well, a lot of people today know who Bhagat Singh is but not Udham Singh. Many have not even heard his name. But it’s thanks to people like him, that we live in independent India today. What they had to go through for us to enjoy this freedom is shocking and traumatic.

Have we made good use of this freedom?
That’s a subjective opinion and differs from individual to individual. It’s a huge country, and along with the good things, there are some problems too that we must deal with every day. It’s the same in a family too. No family is perfect and if we can hold a family together, why not a nation?

Are you a patriot?
I am, I love my India and tell my children that during vacations we should travel through the country and not abroad. Our history and traditions are among the oldest in the world. And despite so much diversity – different regions and languages, caste and creed, food and customs—we remain one. Any other country would have broken into parts by now.

How tough is it to recreate a bygone era?
Very difficult even during research as there’re few records available and those there are were speculative. This is my first period film and it’s hard to create that environment and these characters that are a part of our history.

What’s St Petersburg like?
Wonderful, the Russians love India... They love Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun da (Chakraborty). If you want something you only sing “Jimmy Jimmy” from Disco Dancer.

Where else are you shooting?
The outskirts of London, parts of Ireland and Germany, and of course, India. We will be shooting for six-seven months, all through the year during different seasons. The film is scheduled for a 2020 release.

Finally, how does it feel to have Irrfan back on the sets, even if he is shooting for another film, Angrezi Medium?
Irrfan is a friend, I was constantly in touch with him through the last year and a half when he was undergoing treatment. And I remember, the first thing I did when he was leaving for London after learning that he had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour was to assure him that he would back soon and do many more films. I was always optimistic and today, when I see him shooting, it feels so good, almost spiritual. I talk to him and his family every other day. We’ve bonded for life.

Irrfan couldn’t do Udham Singh because the film demands plenty of action. But do you see the two of you collaborating on another film in future?
We will definitely do a film together. We have already started scripting one with him in mind.