Saiee Manjrekar. She was so confident in Dabangg 3 that it was difficult to believe that it was her first film. Unfortunately COVID happened after that and her career kind of stalled. She did make heads turn in the bilingual Major (2022), as Advi Sesh’s love interest. Now, she’s ready to woo the silver screen once more with Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, where she’s essaying the role of young Tabu. Saiee’s enthusiasm for movies remains intact and she comes across as a sorted individual who hasn’t let her pedigree (father Mahesh Manjrekar is both an actor and a filmmaker and mother Medha too is an actor) for granted. She believes in taking life as it comes and one can hear the lilt of passion in her voice as she answers…

Please tell us about your latest film, Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. How did this film happen? I remember testing for a show that Neeraj Pandey sir was going to start two years ago, but it didn’t work out as they were looking for a fresh face. I was really upset because I had wanted to work with him for the longest time. About two-three months later, I received a call asking if I would come and test for this film. I immediately said yes. Then two months passed in complete silence. There were no updates on that front. Just as I was leaving for Goa for New Year’s with my friends, I received a call asking me to come and meet them. I remember cancelling my flight and rushing to the office. I believe it was destiny. The first test made them consider me and the second test secured the film for me.

How intimidating was it meeting Ajay Devgn?