Home Is a Co-Star

Twelve years after meeting on the set of a film that wouldn't release for a decade, actors Adarsh Gourav and Sanjana Sanghi discuss how their teenage friendship evolved into a bond that's helped them weather the highs and lows of stardom

- By Sneha Menon Desai | Photography by Shivangi Kulkarni

There's something about film friendships that are formed on a film set — especially this one where a 16-year-old Sanjana Sanghi preparing for her board exams met an 18-year-old Adarsh Gourav on the sets of Woh Bhi Din The in Jamshedpur. The film didn't see the light of day for the next decade, but what remained was an “instant friendship” and the two becoming each other's safe space.

From being teenagers navigating their first film together to becoming acclaimed actors with breakout roles in The White Tiger and Dil Bechara respectively, Gourav and Sanghi speak to The Hollywood Reporter India about growing up in the industry, supporting each other through the highs and lows of fame, and maintaining an authentic friendship in Bollywood's demanding and often overwhelming world.

Edited excerpt from the conversation.

THR INDIA: The two of you met on the set of Woh Bhi Din The 12 years ago. Was it friendship at first sight?
ADARSH GOURAV: Did we instantly become friends?
SANJANA SANGHI: Yeah, fully, I think at the workshop in Aramnagar. The first thing I did was mock the chappal and the cap he was wearing.

THR INDIA: So, what were your first impressions of each other?
AG: When I was told that the actress from Rockstar is going to be there, I thought it was going to be [the actor who played] Ranbir Kapoor's sister.
SS: My best guess is disappointment. I think 12 years later he's just like, “I wish the other girl had walked in.” I had zero context. I'm 16, taking my board [exams] and for some reason I've agreed to do this film. And seeing both Adarsh and Rohit [Saraf] in that workshop room, instantly, especially with Adarsh, I knew that this guy is gonna [be a friend].