Aalia Furniturewalla, the daughter of former model-turned-actress and columnist Pooja Bedi, is set to step into the glitzy world of Hindi cinema with the upcoming film Jawani Janeman, to be bankrolled by actor-producer Saif Ali Khan.
Jawani Janeman is a coming-of-age story of a 40-year-old man and his relationship with his daughter. Apart from producing, Khan will also play the male lead in the flick while Aalia will be seen as his daughter in it.
“She has all the qualities we were looking for in the young lead, the charm and energy to take the film to the level that it needs. We are lucky to have found our perfect cast and I’m looking forward to working with Aalia,” says Saif.
The movie will be helmed by filmmaker Nitin Kakkar, who has previously directed the National Film Award-winning flick Filmistaan (2013). He is currently calling the shots for the Salman Khan-produced Notebook.
Jay Shewakramani, co-producer of Jawani Janeman, reveals that before locking Aalia, his team auditioned almost 50 aspirants. “Someone told me that Pooja Bedi’s daughter wants to act, so I checked out her pictures and sent a message to Pooja who put me in touch with Aalia’s agency. We loved her test, she’s got the film completely on her own merit,” says Jay.
Jawani Janeman is set to hit the shooting floor in March, next year.
Zain Imam
A still from Suman Indori
