Sanya Malhotra on her dance film dream: ‘I’ve waited for years, now I’ll create it myself’

Mumbai, Oct 2 (PTI) “I’m truly myself when I’m dancing,” says Sanya Malhotra, who has long dreamt of doing a full-fledged dance film. But since no such opportunity has come her way, the actor may just have to create one for herself.

The actor, known for her critically-acclaimed performances in movies such as “Mrs”, “Kathal”, “Pagglait”, and “Dangal”, is trained in contemporary and ballet, and has nurtured a deep bond with dance since childhood.

“It makes me feel so good when I dance, I dance almost every day for 10 minutes a day. It just makes me feel so good. I'm truly myself when I'm dancing,” Malhotra told PTI in an interview.

“After the ‘DID’ (‘Dance India Dance’, a reality series) audition, I realised that no, ‘It's not going to work out that way. I’m going to focus on acting’. I’m glad I did,” the actor added.

Malhotra, who often delights fans with her dance reels, said she no longer wishes to wait for recognition.

“I’m going to create something of my own. I’ve waited for 10 years, no one is casting me (in a dance film). Nobody is coming to me with a dance script, so it’s okay, I’ll make one. I’ve an idea, I should work on it. Whenever I get the time, I’m going to work on that.” Malhotra currently stars in “Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari”, which released in theatres countrywide on Thursday.

The actor is glad that she got to dance her heart out to the film’s chartbuster tracks like “Ishq Manzoor” and “Panwadi”.

“I was craving doing something like this… I wanted to look nice; I wanted to go on set and just have fun. I believe that I manifested this film and this opportunity. This came right after ‘Sam Bahadur’.

“When I got a call from Shashank, I was really looking forward to meet him. I met him and then I read the script. I had so much fun reading it. He gave me a gist of how he wants Ananya (her character) to look like, I was like, ‘I'm in’.” The romantic-comedy is directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. It also features Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor and Rohit Saraf.

The movie features Dhawan and Kapoor as Sunny and Tulsi, who reunite in Delhi with the intention of rekindling their past romance with their exes — Ananya (Malhotra) and Vikram (Saraf).

To make their ex-partners jealous, they pretend to be a couple, leading to a series of humorous misunderstandings and deceptions.

The year 2025 has turned out to be special for Malhotra, with three of her films — “Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery”, “Sam Bahadur” and “Jawan” — winning National Awards.

“Kathal” won the Best Hindi Feature Film award, while “Sam Bahadur” received honours for Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values, Best Costume Design, and Best Make-up Artist.

“Jawan” was recognised with the Best Actor award for Shah Rukh Khan and Best Playback Singer (Female) for Shilpa Rao.

The actor said she feels “super proud and excited” to be associated with them.

“I’m so grateful that the film (‘Kathal’) is getting the recognition that it deserves. After three years, we had our posters all over the city after we won the national award which is insane because we didn't have the posters when we were promoting the film. It's incredible.

“It was such a surreal and such a beautiful thing to see. I feel so happy to be a part of a film like ‘Kathal’,” she said.

With “Sam Bahadur”, the Meghna Gulzar-directed biopic on India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw, Malhotra said she had an inkling that the movie would go on to win a National Award.

“We knew from day one we were going to win a national award. I feel so grateful.” About “Jawan”, she said, “King Khan (SRK) has won the national award, and he is so incredible. I remember on set that Atlee sir (director) was so confident that sir would win a national award for this film. So, he predicted it and he was so right.” PTI KKP RB