‘We Have Not Glorified Adithya Varma'

Banita Sandhu on why she zeroed in on the Dhruv Vikram-starrer to début in Kollywood

- Gautam Sunder

She is all of 22, but Banita Sandhu’s piercing glance and her matter-of-fact persona belies a refreshing maturity far beyond her years. Debuting with Shoojit Sircar’s October in 2018 happened almost accidentally for her, but suddenly, the British-Indian actor, who is based in London, was touted as a Bollywood ‘find’ to watch out for. Yet, almost just as suddenly, she decided to take a sabbatical.

A year on (and an American TV series later), Banita is making her Kollywood début in a remake of a remake, with a divisive role that has split opinion among audiences across the country in the two previous instalments of the story. We are talking, of course, about Adithya Varma, which comes in the wake of the success of Kabir Singh and the original Arjun Reddy. Excerpts from an interview with Banita:

When Adithya Varma came your way, did you know that you were replacing another actor in a cancelled version of the film?