Aaliyah Qureishi popularly known as Jhalli is a musician and actor, who will be seen alongside Shah Rukh Khan in the upcoming film Jawan. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Jhalli shares her experience working with the superstar.
Jhalli auditioned for the role in 2021, and a week later was called for a meeting with director Atlee. With a little bit of training in boxing, and the willingness to change her hair for a dramatic transformation, she bagged the role to play one of the six girls in SRK’s squad. “It was an insane feeling. I was going to be acting with Shah Rukh Sir. I told myself I won't believe it until I'm physically on set with him. And that first week was crazy. I had to keep pinching myself between scenes because it felt like a literal dream.”
Jhalli describes SRK as the humblest, kindest, and funniest person in the room. She recalls, “Once I mentioned in passing that I was hungry, and before I knew he had organized makhana, salted cashews, peanuts, and chips on a makeshift table. He was so caring and always hugged me hello and goodbye (he smells amazing by the way). It’s exactly what I hoped it would be. And then to see him at his craft and watch his process and learn from him was another gift in itself.”
“Another thing that inspires me is his work ethic. At one point he was working double shifts- days doing Dunki and nights doing Jawan - for many, many days in a row and was functioning on around 4 hours of sleep a day. I remember he once told me that if you believe in something 100% it will definitely come true, but there has to be no trace of doubt in your mind,” she adds.
Speaking about her experience of working with Atlee, Jhalli asserts that she is grateful to him for this opportunity. She says, “During one of the schedules he used to bring home-cooked South Indian food and we’d all eat dinner together. He’s a visionary, very brave, and takes risks which is why I think Jawan is going to be a really unique and powerful film.”
Jhalli underwent stunt training, which included hand-to-hand combat, gun, and rifle training, wearing a harness and jumping from a great height, rolls and parkour jumps, and choreographed fight sequences.
SRK's squad also includes Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan, and Girija Oak. When asked about bonding with her contemporaries, Jhalli shares on a parting note, “We have gotten really close over the past two years and have become like family. It is so rare to find a group of six that vibe as well together as we do. They’re all strong, kind, funny, and talented women and we’ve been each other's emotional support on set and off. I think that our offscreen friendship translated on screen. We try to meet for dinner once a month and have a WhatsApp group that’s popping up. On our last day on set together, we ordered ice cream and went around the group saying what we appreciated about each other.”
