Despite facing heavy backlash and social media trolling over her role as a “fake mother” to actor Varun Dhawan in David Dhawan’s ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’, Mouni Roy remains unfazed by the controversy. The actor brushed off the noise, stating that her only focus was living up to the director’s vision and giving him exactly what he was looking for.
Mouni Roy on the trolling: ‘I didn’t care what people were saying’
In an interview with News18, she said, “I can’t do anything about it. I didn’t care what the noise was. I didn’t care what people were saying. It became such a big thing that ‘how can the makers do this to me!’ But I knew what I had done in the film. I knew that my director was very happy, and so is everybody I’ve worked with on the film”.
Why did Mouni Roy’s casting spark outrage?
For those unaware, the film’s trailer sparked a wave of backlash directed at the makers of ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’, with audiences mocking the decision to cast 40-year-old Mouni as the on-screen, albeit fake, mother of 39-year-old Varun. The near-identical ages of the two actors in real life became a hot topic of ridicule, as viewers found it hard to digest the mother-son dynamic between them, even with the fictional context of it being a pretend relationship.
Mouni Roy’s first reaction: ‘His mother?’
While the actor expressed genuine excitement about being part of the project, she admitted that the nature of her role initially caught her off guard. Recalling the moment she first heard about it, she shared, “First, Mukesh Chhabra (casting director) had called me. When he told me about the part, my first reaction was also that. I was like, ‘His mother?’ Then I went and heard a narration from David sir and Farhad Samji (dialogue writer).”The actor continued, “I laughed my guts out! Just imagine, Varun is calling Maniesh (Maniesh Paul) and saying, ‘Maa ka phone call nahi chahiye, puri ki puri maa chahiye. Nirupa Roy jaisi. ‘ Cut to, you see me walk in, where someone else is telling Jimmy sir’s character, ‘Yeh maa ke liye thodi chhoti nahi hai? ‘”.
Mouni Roy on David Dhawan: ‘His films are my comfort watch’
Showering praise on the filmmaker, Mouni opened up about her deep admiration for David Dhawan and revealed why she couldn’t turn down the project. She stated, “I’m a huge David Dhawan fan. His films are my friends. They are my comfort watch. He said that this will be his last film. Also, it’s a comedy, and I was doing comedy for the first time. So, I was really looking forward to it. They kept me away from all the promotions. It was a good call as it made people curious, ‘film mein yeh kar kya rahi hai!'”.
Mouni Roy’s film tanks at the box office
The film, which also featured Mrunal Thakur, Pooja Hegde, Maniesh Paul, Chunky Panday, and Jimmy Sheirgill in significant roles, failed to make a mark with critics or audiences alike. ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ ultimately turned out to be a box office disappointment, managing to collect just Rs 74.23 crore worldwide, as reported by industry tracker Sacnilk.
