A Random Desi Romance at TIFF

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra’s ‘A Random Desi Romance’ was one of the 20 Gala presentations and screening at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The story is a love triangle between Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput) – a tourist guide in Jaipur, the lively smoker – Gayatri (Parineti Chopra) and his bride – Tara (Vaani Kapoor).

Director Maneesh Sharma of ‘Band Baja Baraati’ fame and screen writer Jaideep Sahni of ‘Chak De! India’ have woven this “unconventional love story” exploring the concept of live-in relationships in India’s small town.

Sharma says the script is about “very real characters and situations” set in a small town in India. “The very urban issues of commitment and love are for the first time being dealt with in small town, which is very quirky, new and refreshing,” Sharma said during a press conference at TIFF.

For Chopra, the character of Gayatri is as different from herself as chalk and cheese – Gayatri is a smoker who’s been around the block and has a list of former boyfriends. In real life, Chopra says she does not smoke, neither does she have a long list of boyfriends. But the character intrigued her, the script was different and that’s what got her to take up the role. “It hits you in the face… It has a relatable script, relatable characters. Fans want to see real stories in films,” she said.

Chopra, who started her career in the film industry as a PR and marketing intern with Yash Raj Films, says she was never interested in acting even though the family had a superstar right at home – cousin Priyanka Chopra. “I was a hotshot banker and I thought acting was beneath me. Only after I worked in the industry… after joining YRF… (I) developed respect for the profession … I wanted to do it,” she said.