Shah Rukh finds his Simran

The hunt for the lead girl opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is over.

Sources reveal the girl is not Sonam Kapoor as reported by a section of the media, but a newcomer from Amritsar. We are told that Shah Rukh and Adi held scores of auditions for the role before finalising the girl.

A source from the project leaked details about who the girl is. “Her name is Simran and she’s currently staying at a hotel in Juhu. She doesn’t have any acting background and was chosen solely on the basis of her looks and the screen test.”

Giving details about Simran the source adds, “The script for the film is fresh and even though it’s a love story it has an interesting twist in the climax. Adi was toying with the idea of working with an established actress, but it was Shah Rukh’s suggestion that they go with a newcomer.

Simran impressed Adi with her innocence and that was important for the character. Even though she’s new to the industry, Simran wasn’t star struck when she met SRK for the first time.”

After she was finalised, both SRK and Adi joked how she shared her name with Kajol’s character in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, “Simran told Adi how she had watched DDLJ several times and never thought she would act with SRK one day.”

It is learnt that Adi is taking all precautions to keep Simran under wraps until she starts shooting.

“She’s put up in the hotel with her folks and Adi keeps having meetings with her. He’s given her the script for rehearsal and is also working on her dialect and grooming.”

Tushar Joshi, Mid-Day