How Did Parineeti Chopra Transform Into Saina - In Pictures

Parineeti Chopra transforms into Saina: Actor Parineeti Chopra says she had to undergo intense physical training to play the role of ace badminton player Saina Nehwal for her upcoming film Saina.

The actor has recently shared a Behind the scenes (BTS) video showing the transformation. In the recently-released video posted on Instagram, the actor talked about going through extensive training and physical hardships and how she transformed into Saina on the court.

The sports biopic based on badminton star Saina Nehwal's journey to breaking numerous glass ceilings has created a lot of buzz.

Screengrab from trailer

“Playing badminton was probably a secondary thing. I first had to get into the mind and physicality of being an athlete. We did a lot of training for agility, performance, strength, speed. You have to get serious skills to play an Olympian,” Chopra says in the video on Instagram.

Screengrab from Parineeti Chopra's video on Instagram

Chopra's fitness and badminton coach also spoke about the injuries she sustained in to essay the role of the ace athlete.

Screengrab from Parineeti Chopra's video on Instagram

Parineeti Chopra transform into Saina

I didn’t want to act like Saina, I wanted to become Saina, Parineeti Chopra said.

Screengrab from trailer

On her strategy to deal with trolls, Parineeti Chopra said, “I function very differently. If I find criticism valid, I will take up sportingly. But if I don’t find any merit in it then I ignore it.”

Screengrab from trailer

Nehwal has many honours to her name, winning two Commonwealth Games gold medals for her country, representing India three times in the Olympics and winning a bronze medal in her second appearance. Her London Olympic bronze medal is a gamechanger for Indian badminton. More on her achievements here.

Screengrab from Parineeti Chopra's video on Instagram

Saina is set to release in theatres on March 26th.

Feature Image Credit: Parineeti Chopra/Instagram