Once a princess always a princess. This could well be the adage for Zareen Khan (yes, that's the way she is spelled now, and not Zarine Khan) who has gained an entry into a period drama all over again. After being seen as the princess who fell in love with the 'veer' Salman Khan, she is now going further back in time with yet another assignment which is on the similar lines.
"Yes, she is playing a princess all over again. This would be for the Tamil film called Karikalan. It is a step in the right direction for her as this one is a biggie with a multicrore budget. Also, she is the leading lady opposite Tamil superstar Vikram who was seen as Ram in the Hindi version of Mani Ratnam's Raavan. She has already finished one schedule of this film and would soon be resuming shoot after the release of Housefull 2," informs a close friend of Zareen.
For Zareen it was a tough decision though to step into yet another costume drama. After all, Veer wasn't quite the kind of start that a quintessential Bollywood heroine takes. While she had limited opportunity to show the glamorous side of hers, the below par run of the film meant that she had to bide time before she could step into an item number 'Character Dheela' [Ready] and then play one of the four heroines in Housefull 2.
"However the makers of Karikalan were insistent that she was the best choice for the role due to her prior experience of playing a princess in Veer," adds a source, "Compared to many other Salman Khan heroines who have been seen as mere eye candy in his last few films, Zareen at least had a role to speak of. Moreover she had performed decently in her debut outing, the makers felt that she had the potential of justifying the faith shown in her."
Zareen did discuss the opportunity with her close friends and industry confidantes and finally consented to playing the role. However this too came with a pre-condition that she won't put on any excess weight, as was the requirement in Veer.
Laughs Zareen, "Yes, this time around I wasn't accepting chocolates and sweets on a platter, something that was the case in Veer. At that time everyone made me eat as much as I wanted since I was required to put on weight. I was sure not to repeat that in my new assignment. Moreover there are other Hindi films to look at as well where I have to be slim and fit. Thankfully the makers agreed as well so it turned out to be a win-win situation for me."
Courtesy: Bollywood Hungama
