Saina Nehwal breaks silence on Parineeti Chopra unfollowing her, reveals Shraddha Kapoor was first choice for biopic

New Delhi: Actress Parineeti Chopra portrayed badminton champion Saina Nehwal in her 2021 biopic Saina, directed by Amol Gupte. While the film failed to make a mark at the box office, Parineeti received critical appreciation for her performance.

Last month, fans noticed that Parineeti had unfollowed Saina on Instagram, even though the athlete continues to follow the actress. The move sparked speculation on social media.

Earlier, Saina had brushed aside the issue, saying she was unaware of it and assumed Parineeti had simply “moved on” after the film’s release.

In a recent interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Saina addressed the matter again.

“I didn’t know that she unfollowed me. Maybe she was focused on work, and once the film was done, she moved on to her next project,” she said.

Saina also clarified that although they trained together for the film, they never developed a close friendship due to time constraints.

“Friendship requires spending a lot of time together, but there wasn’t enough time since the film had to be released quickly. We weren’t meeting every day,” she explained.

Praising Parineeti’s dedication, Saina said, “She was very serious. She constantly asked how to serve and how to play forehand and backhand. She trained regularly in Mumbai with coach Shrikant Vad, and director Amol Gupte would send me videos of her practice sessions. Learning even basic badminton takes a year, but she tried to pick it up in four to five months. She did a very good job in the film.”

“I helped her with skills like serving, movement on court, forehand and backhand. She may have also observed my behaviour and the way I speak to portray it on screen. She worked very hard and performed extremely well. I even got emotional watching the film,” Saina added.

‘Shraddha was the first choice…’

When asked who she would choose if her biopic were to be made again, Saina named Shraddha Kapoor. The actor was originally selected for the role but had to exit the project due to illness.

Speaking fondly of Shraddha, Saina said, “We are still in touch and have met many times. She’s a very sweet girl. She had agreed to do the film but had to opt out because she was suffering from dengue.”

Meanwhile, Parineeti Chopra, recently welcomed her first child with husband Raghav Chadha, has not yet reacted to the buzz.