The Madhuri Dixit lookalike, Sanaa Khan – though flooded with offers from Bollywood – is bedding down firmly in Kollywood. “Even back in school, I would always choose to perform only for Madhuri Dixit songs,” she explains, “I copied her style of dancing, body language and mannerisms. So consciously or unconsciously, in the process of emulating her, I was noticed and got a lot of offers for TV commercials. Madhuri is my role model.”
Sanaa is currently shooting Silambattam opposite Simbu. “He called me after seeing my ad with Shah Rukh Khan for a face cream. When we met, he narrated the story to me. I play the role of Janu — a talkative, slightly tomboyish village girl who is a little loud. What struck me was that the role was similar to Madhuri’s village belle avatar in films like Ram Lakhan and Beta. So without any hesitation at all I signed on the dotted line.”
The movie also stars Sneha Ullal, often describe as an Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lookalike (!). The first half of the movie sees Simbu as a temple priest but in the second half of the movie he plays a diametrically opposed character, following the time-honoured tradition in Indian movies of the same actor often playing a dual-role. “It’s not a story that hasn’t been told before. But innovation will be evident in the screenplay,” says the director.
