- She recalled receiving various offers after “Secret Superstar” but did not land the roles she truly wanted.
- She emphasized her desire to see herself in stronger characters and not to see women in weak roles.
- “Secret Superstar” was released in 2017 and featured Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim.
Salman Khan’s “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” is considered one of the greatest films of recent times. The 2015 movie introduced then-debutante Harshaali Malhotra alongside Salman. Recently, actress Meher Vij reflected on how she became typecast as a mother after her roles in “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, which starred Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and Aamir Khan’s *Secret Superstar*. Meher expressed her desire to avoid watching women in weak roles.
In a recent interview, Meher Vij, who played Harshaali Malhotra’s on-screen mother in Kabir Khan’s “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, recalled receiving various offers after “Secret Superstar”. However, the actress did not land the roles she truly wanted in films.
Meher elaborated that she doesn’t want to be a monotonous actor who keeps playing the same types of characters. While sharing her experience, the “Secret Superstar” actress recalled that filmmakers would often pigeonhole her when offering roles.
Recounting how she rejected those roles, Meher expressed, “I said, ‘I don’t want to do this. I’m not here to play a certain type of role. I want to see myself in stronger characters.’ It’s a personal choice; I don’t want to see women in weak roles.”
The 38-year-old actress clarified that although her role in “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” wasn’t a weak character, female actors need to pursue more action-based roles.
In the same interview, Meher Vij reminisced about how she landed her role in Salman Khan’s “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”. She shared that she was shooting for an advertisement when casting director Mukesh Chhabra called her about the part in Kabir Khan’s film.
The actress continued by saying that she met with the filmmakers, who asked her to confirm whether the mole under her eye was real. When she inquired about it, the casting team informed her that director Kabir Khan wanted to know about her mole.
Meher recalled confirming that the mole was indeed real, which ultimately helped her secure the role of Munni’s mother, Razia, in the Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor starrer. The actress noted that she didn’t discuss with Kabir Khan the reason behind his inquiry about the mole. Meher speculated that the mole might have intrigued them or added value to her character in the 2015 film.
“Bajrangi Bhaijaan” starred Salman Khan as Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, while Kareena Kapoor played Rasika Pandey. Harshaali Malhotra was cast as Shahida Aziz, also known as Munni. The 2015 film also featured Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sharat Saxena, and Om Puri in key roles.
“Secret Superstar”, headlined by Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim, was released in 2017. Zaira portrayed a teenage girl, Insia Malik, who aspires to be a singer, while Aamir played the lead role of Shakti Kumar, a music director based in Mumbai, in Advait Chandan’s film. Meher Vij took on the role of Zaira’s on-screen mother, Nazma Malik, in the 2017 coming-of-age story.
In addition to “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” and “Secret Superstar”, Meher Vij has worked in films such as “Lucky: No Time for Love”, “Tum Bin II”, *Bhoot: Part One: The Haunted Ship”, and “Maharaj”. Recently, Meher played the lead role in “Bandaa Singh Chaudhary”, which stars Arshad Warsi in the titular role.
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