Vidya Balan pranked a visitor on Neeyat sets but got caught, reveals co-star Shahana Goswami

Shahana Goswami, who features in Neeyat alongside Vidya Balan, has revealed a prank that the latter tried to pull on a visitor to the sets of the film, but did not succeed and was caught.(Also read| Neeyat trailer: Vidya Balan’s murder mystery has eerie resemblance to Knives Out)

Directed by Anu Menon, Neeyat also features Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Neeraj Kabi, Amrita Puri, Dipannita Sharma, Niki Walia, Shashank Arora, Prajakta Koli and Danesh Razvi.

Vidya Balan’s prank

Talking to Dainik Bhaskar, Shahana said, “Once one of my friends visited the sets and Vidya told me she’d prank him into believing that she does not English at all. They started their conversation and they kept talking in English while Vidya continued in Hindi. It continued for a while and we did not get the reaction we expected. When Vidya felt she could no longer continue in Hindi alone, she admitted that she knows English. My friend then told her, in Hindi, that they knew all along that she knows English and was simply playing a prank.”

She added that the atmosphere on sets was fun and Vidya was the first person to prank one and all. Shahana also recalled shooting in Scotland and said that their clothes were not enough to beat the cold, and they’d often wrap themselves in blankets when not shooting.

Vidya’s recent films

It has been a long time since Vidya Balan saw a theatrical release. Her last three releases Shakuntala Devi, Sherni, and Jalsa premiered directly on the streaming platform Prime Video.

Apart from Neeyat, Vidya also has a romantic comedy lined up for release soon. She will be seen with Pratik Gandhi in Lovers. Directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta, the film, also features Ileana D’Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

About Neeyat

Anu Menon’s Neeyat is a suspense-thriller that traces the story of an unlikely detective (Vidya) who arrives at a billionaire’s party to investigate a murder – a crime scene that soon witnesses a series of murders. Produced by the Vikram Malhotra-led Abundantia Entertainment, Neeyat releases in theatres on July 7.