Parineeti Chopra stepped into the shoes of badminton icon Saina Nehwal in the 2021 biographical drama Saina, delivering a performance that earned widespread praise. From capturing the athlete's grit and determination to mirroring her on-court intensity, Parineeti's portrayal was lauded by audiences and critics alike, marking one of the most talked-about performances of her career. During the promotions of the film, the two were seen a lot together; however, as several netizens have pointed out, Parineeti does not even follow back the badminton star on Instagram. Saina recently addressed that issue and shared her opinion about it.
During a conversation with Subhojit Ghosh for his Instagram channel, Parineeti, while talking about the issue of Parineeti not following her back post the biopic, shed light on the kind of bond that the two share. She very clearly mentioned that the two never formed any kind of friendship and had only met each other owing to professional commitments.
Saina said, "Actually, I did not notice this and na kabhi dhyan gaya hain ispe. Kyuki life has been so busy with my training and tournaments and events ki iss cheez pe dhyan nahi gaya. Jitna bhi baatein hui hain humari, it's not like ki friends ban gaye the kuch... in a few sessions I was also like a professional telling her ki maine life mein kya-kya kiya, maine kuch bola hi nahi ki maine friendship kari thi ya kuch (Actually, I didn't notice this and never paid attention to it. Because life has been so busy with my training, tournaments, and events that I didn't pay attention to it. Whatever we talked about, it's not like we became friends... In a few sessions, I was also like a professional telling her what all I did in life; I never said anything about making friendships or anything.)"
The champion badminton player further went on to add, "It was totally a professional work for which she was there and I knew that. I was busy with my training so that I also could not give so much of time. Ki hum dinners ya lunch pe jaaye. Utna kabhi hua nahi. Jitna bhi 1-2 ghante mein, once in 2-3 weeks hum milke, director saab was there... and I explained to her about my journey and all that. Aisa kuch bhi nahi tha ki humne bohot time spend kiya taki hum friends ban sake, it was mostly about the work which she was about to do... But humne kuch zyada friendship nahi banayi thi to follow or unfollow (It was totally a professional work for which she was there and I knew that. I was busy with my training so that I also could not give so much of time. That we go to dinners or lunches. It has never happened before. Even in 1-2 hours, once in 2-3 weeks we met, director Saab was there... and I explained to her about my journey and all that. It was not like we spent a lot of time making friends for the sake of it, it was mostly about the work which she was about to do... But we did not make much friendship to follow or unfollow.)"
As per recent reports, neither Saina nor Parineeti do not follow each other on Instagram. Parineeti has still not made any comments about it at the moment.
Coming to the biopic, overall, while Saina did not win unanimous praise as a film and received mixed reactions, Parineeti's performance clearly stood out. Her effort, commitment, and portrayal of Saina Nehwal were appreciated across the board, even by those who felt the film itself could have been better.
