In 2021, actress Parineeti Chopra received praise for her performance in Saina. The biopic on ace badminton player Saina Nehwal saw Parineeti step into the shoes of the athlete and portray her journey to becoming a world champion. While the film did not perform well at the box office, social media users later noticed that Parineeti did not follow Saina on Instagram. During the making of the film, Parineeti and Saina worked closely so that the actor could understand the athlete’s mannerisms and life better.
Saina on bond with Parineeti
In a recent conversation with Subhojit Ghosh on his YouTube channel, Saina addressed the Instagram controversy and clarified that their association was purely professional and that they never became friends.
Reacting to users noticing that Parineeti does not follow her on social media, Saina Nehwal said, “Actually, I did not notice this and kabhi dhyaan bhi nahi gaya ispe, because life has been so busy with training, tournaments, and events. Jitni bhi baatein hui hain, it’s not like we became friends. In a few sessions, I was like a professional telling her about my life and journey. It was never about forming a friendship.”
She further explained that they met only for work-related purposes and did not bond beyond that. “It was completely professional. I was busy with my training, so I couldn’t give much time. We never went out for dinners or lunches. We met for an hour or two once every few weeks, mostly in the presence of the director, and spoke about my journey. We never spent enough time together to become friends or worry about following or unfollowing each other,” she added.
Currently, neither Saina Nehwal nor Parineeti Chopra follows the other on social media.
About Saina
Saina was released in March 2021 and opened to mixed reviews. The film was released amid the COVID-19 pandemic and theatres were not fully functional at that point owing to the virus. It impacted the box office performance of the film. Directed by Amole Gupte, the film traces the personal and professional journey of the badminton champion and is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
