Siddhant and Sharvari Introduced as New Bunty and Babli: Watch Song
‘Luv Ju’ is the new luv language. Watch ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ at your nearest big screen on Nov. 19.
By R.M. VIJAYAKAR/Special to India-West
MUMBAI — “Gully Boy” hunk Siddhant Chaturvedi and the gorgeous debutante Sharvari make for a refreshingly new on-screen pair that audiences will see in Yash Raj Films’ “Bunty Aur Babli 2.” Interestingly, this film will present them as a commercial hero and heroine for the first time in their movie careers.
For both Siddhant and Sharvari, “Bunty Aur Babli 2” is a film also of other firsts. They learned salsa in their career’s first romantic song titled “Luv Ju,” which was launched at the YRF Studios Nov. 1 as a Diwali get-together after two years!
Siddhant says, “In Punjabi, one often says “Luv Ju” instead of “Love You.” There is a vibe and style in how the youth says “Luv Ju” and this song captures this beautifully. It’s an effortless, feel-good song that shows how the new Bunty and Babli let their hair down after a grand heist. They are in love and are extremely attracted to each other. So, the song captures their flirtatious chemistry.”
He adds, “It’s my first romantic song! So, I remember I was really excited to learn salsa from (choreographer) Vaibhavi Merchant! I was going to shoot a romantic song for the first time in my career and I gave it my all and practiced for hours! I’m now addicted to listening to this song and I hope that the youth of the country will say “Luv Ju” to each other with this song once it drops!”
Sharvari adds, ““Luv Ju” is the first romantic song of both Sid and my careers, so we were naturally super-excited about the process of filming this lovely song. The thing that stands out is that while it’s a romantic song it is also super chill, young, cool, and definitely a song for long drives. It’s got an amazing vibe and I remember the whole crew used to say “Luv Ju” instead of goodbye after the shoot was over every day. This is definitely going to be the newest, coolest slang in town because it’s so catchy!”
She went on, “We also learned a mix of Bachata and Salsa for a portion of this song. It was for the first time we were doing such a complex dance form and had to pull off some extremely fast-paced choreography. Salsa is about 50-50 partnership and while learning it, Sid and I struggled so much in finding that balance. But when we got the hang of it, we could pull it off in our sleep. We practiced non-stop because we wanted to get the choreography bang on! It was such an honor to be choreographed by the genius Vaibhavi Merchant ma’am. She believed we could pull off such an intense Salsa choreography, so we had to put in extra efforts to prove ma’am right!”
An entirely rebooted franchise, “Bunty Aur Babli 2” features Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji as the original Bunty and Babli. Sharvari admitted that while on-screen the new Bunty and Babli are competing against each other, off-screen and on sets, the younger couple found them both to be like textbooks. “What I would have learned over 4 to 5 films I picked up in only this film.” Siddhant agreed to this.
At the presscon, Sharvari also let on that Siddhant battled hydrophobia while shooting this sequence. He admits, “When we saw the scene post the shoot, all the hardship and difficulties that we had to endure was worth it! It looks beautiful and the scene really brings out the chemistry and the beautiful relationship that the new Bunty and Babli share in the film.” Sharvari admitted that no one had worked so hard at battling a long-standing fear as Siddhant, even though she was underwater to help him in the scene!
“I didn’t expect to shoot such a difficult romantic intimate scene in my first film as a hero!” grinned Siddhant Chaturvedi, opening up about the underwater kissing scene in “Bunty Aur Babli 2” that has gone viral on the internet.
He says, “Not only was it shot underwater, and we had to lip sync the song underwater, but we also had to hold our breath and share a passionate kiss! I think we were given a massive task as actors and Sharvari and I completely trusted each other and also surrendered to the vision of Vaibhavi Merchant to perform this scene.”
In a press release the day before the event, Sharvari also declared, ““Bunty Aur Babli 2” gave me the opportunity to speak in Marathi, my mother-tongue.” As a hot, intelligent, tech-savvy con-girl, Sharvari was thrilled when she got to know that she would speak in her mother tongue in one of the elaborate cons that she pulls off with Siddhant Chaturvedi.
Sharvari adds, “Sid and I characterized all our cons, gave them a personality, character traits and tried to capture the essence of different dialects. I took the identity of a senior authority who happens to be a Maharashtrian. I added a few Marathi dialogues and I remember I was thrilled to shoot this sequence for obvious reasons.”
Yash Raj Films’ “Bunty Aur Babli 2,” set to release worldwide Nov. 19, has been directed by Varun V. Sharma.