Disha Patani, who portrayed M.S. Dhoni’s first love on screen, definitely seems to be a star in the making. She may have been in the news for being Tiger Shroff’s heartthrob, but look deeper and you can see a rising star! Disha is all excited about her latest film, Kung Fu Yoga, with Jackie Chan, which released recently. “I play a princess in this film,” she says adding, “It was a little tough for me to learn to walk, sit and talk in a princely manner, and it took me some time to get the hang of it.
“I enjoyed working with Jackie Chan. He is a very hard-working person. Also, despite being a legend, he is humble. After working with him, I have learnt a few things in Kung Fu as well. Also, he has a lot of broken bones, and still, he manages himself well. He says that he rarely visits doctors as he is scared of injections!” reveals Disha. Disha has come a long way. Not belonging to the world of glitz and glamour, she worked in the Telugu film industry, before her debut film in Bollywood, MS Dhoni — The Untold Story.
Even with all media reports linking her with Jr Shroff, she announces that she is very much single. “Yes, I am single. I have no time to mingle,” she reveals. “For me, it’s not like it is all work and no play, but I am so busy from morning to evening, that I feel content. I go to the gym; I am a sporty person. I have played basketball during my school days. Above all, I am a shy person and love to stay at home. I am not a good cook, but whenever I go for my auditions, etc., I cook food myself. Owing to my busy schedule, work and play goes hand in hand,” she says.
She makes it clear that reading rumours in the media about herself does not bother her much. “For me, those who are writing not-so-good-things about me, in terms of gossip, don’t matter. Simply because they are not my friends and they do not know about me at all. Whatever they write is out of ignorance,” she adds. Veering the conversation towards the ‘casting couch,’ Disha reveals that she has never been forced to be part of it. “I am lucky as I have a reliable agency that literally treats me like a kid,” she says, adding further, “Actually, it is in your mind — a girl has to be strong and whenever she faces such situations, she should be able to deal with it. I am lucky I have never faced any such situations. No one can take advantage of you if you are strong enough,” she says.
As she divulges about her younger days, she reveals, “My family members are from the Army and the Air Force. I, too, wanted to be a pilot. As a kid, I was a tomboy. During my school days, since I had short hair, no one would even guess that I am a girl and not a boy (laughs). I have been in Mumbai since I was 18, and have been for innumerable auditions. I did a few commercials, and a little bit of modelling too. But after I bagged Puri Jaganadh’s Loafer, I decided to get into films, full-time.”
Disha also believes in sheer hard work. “Hardships do not happen only in the field of glitz and glamour. However, if we work hard, success will be all ours. To fall and learn should be our mantra. I am not a camera person nor am I trained in acting. But having given so many auditions, I have learnt acting. I believe that if opportunity knocks at our door, we need to grab it. We need to believe in ourselves and put in our best.”
