Saina: Amole Gupte Reveals Why Parineeti Chopra Replaced Shraddha Kapoor In The Film

Shraddha Kapoor was to essay the role of ace badminton player in Amole Gupte's Saina. However, the actress was replaced by Parineeti Chopra after shooting for a few portions of the film. Recently, in a tete-a-tete with Bollywood Hungama, director Amol Gupte opened up about Shraddha's exit from the project.

The filmmaker revealed that the decision to relieve Shraddha was a studio mandate, as producer Bhushan Kumar wanted a lead actor for his film Street Dancer 3D. Gupte said that the switch was 'happy happy'

Amol was quoted as saying by the news portal, "Maybe because I haven't spoken about this, people must have felt that there was conflict behind-the-scenes. Fortunately for me, that didn't happen."

The filmmaker said, "Shraddha was in full preparation, which is why we started shooting. She practiced hard to become Saina, and was doing good work. But she got dengue, and became frail after spending a month in bed. She kept asking me if she could try and return, and we kept pushing. But one day, she admitted that she was feeling too weak."

Speaking about how Saina isn't the sort of film in which an actor can deliver a performance without much physical exertion, Amole continued, "Here, you're supposed to play badminton for 12 hours."

He revealed that it was agreed to let Shraddha go and shoot Chhichhore, as the team had booked a shooting location that wouldn't have been available later. But once she wrapped that movie, producer Bhushan Kumar requested Amole if she could be allowed to work on Street Dancer 3D instead, because he was in a 'crisis' and needed a 'heroine'. For those unversed, Street Dancer 3D was orginally announced with Varun Dhawan and Katrina Kaif in leading roles.

Gupte revealed that Bhushan Kumar brought in Parineeti for him. "And he brought Parineeti in for me. It was all happy happy. Parineeti happy, Shraddha happy, Bhushan Kumar happy, and I am also very happy. At least the film wasn't shut down. The film is like my child, nothing should happen to the child; it just took five years to arrive. We are happy parents," the Stanley Ka Dabba director told Bollywood Hungama.

Parineeti Chopra starrer Saina is slated to release in theatres on March 26, 2021.