'Fraaandship' Director Nupur Asthana: 'I'd myself auditioned about 100 to 200 candidates!'

Mahi Way came her way… and director Nupur Asthana found Mujshe Fraaandship Karoge trudging along her cinematic way too.

Nupur Asthana, whose repertoire on the telly has been largely winning (Hip Hip Hurray, Hubahu) soon found a 'Y-Films' movie landing in her kitty. "Actually, I was supposed to be doing a film backed by a large corporate that got shelved" admits Nupur."Then one day, I got a call from Yash Raj saying that Aditya Chopra had seen my work on television and wanted to meet me. When I met him, he offered me Mahi Way. Later, he told me that he had two subjects in films for me and was sure that I would nail both."

Adds she significantly, "When I heard the four-line narration of Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, I told Aditya Chopra that if I could see that film in my head and felt that I could see it with my family, I could certainly direct it."

The debutant director who honed her skills under the guidance of Ketan Mehta, commencing with Aar Ya Paar, didn't compromise on her search before zeroing in on Saqib Saleem, Saba Azad, Nishant Dahiya and Tara D'Souza as the prime leads for her 'Y-Films' treat. "I auditioned about 100 to 200 candidates myself before I managed to finalise my main leads and I must say that all four of them have performed brilliantly," gushes Nupur.

Zoom in for some screen 'Fraaandship'