For an actor who grew up in the middle of the Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai craze, sharing a dance floor with Hrithik Roshan was a full-circle moment. Samvedna Suwalka, known to Drishyam fans as lawyer Gayathri Mohan, has recalled what it was like to shoot Fighter’s high-energy number ‘Sher Khul Gaye’ with Hrithik and Deepika Padukone.
In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Suwalka said she played Bela, the wife of Squadron Leader Rajan Unnithan in Siddharth Anand’s film. The schedule also placed her on a set with around 200 dancers, where she saw how two of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars prepare.
Watching a star push past ‘good enough’
Suwalka’s memory of Hrithik’s work ethic is precise. “Hrithik would not stop till he got the step right. He would take multiple takes,” she said. Even when she looked at his steps and wondered what he was trying to improve, he kept going to make each take better.
That commitment showed up off the dance floor too. During the film’s Kashmir schedule, she noticed that Deepika would chat a little between takes, while Hrithik stayed fully focused on getting his lines and performance right.
- Hrithik’s retakes: a step that already looked flawless got multiple takes.
- Deepika’s set energy: she was approachable and chatted during breaks.
- The fan-to-co-star arc: Suwalka went from collecting Hrithik postcards in school to dancing beside him.
The reach a 100-episode show couldn’t match
Suwalka has acted for years in independent and Gujarati projects, but she said Drishyam 2 and Fighter made her known in a way a 100-episode show did not. “I understood the power of Bollywood commercial films,” she said, pointing to how such films travel to different corners of the country and beyond.
Her doctor classmates in the US, for instance, only noticed after Drishyam 2 and Fighter that their batchmate was an actor. It is a reminder that mainstream visibility is not just about fame; it changes who gets seen and when.
For viewers, the story is a useful lens for watching big song numbers: the polish on screen is often the result of takes nobody asked for except the artist. That is the difference between reaching the set and staying on it.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com