MUMBAI: After a mega search for the leading lady opposite Abhay Deol in SNAFU, the makers have zeroed in on Puja Gupta. More than 50 fresh faces were auditioned over 20 days, pushing the shoot by a month. Every last member in the unit used their contacts and connections to contribute to the hunt. The director, Sethu Sriram really liked Puja for the role but had two more names in mind.  He discussed the situation with Abhay and in a joint call Puja Gupta got the highest votes.

Puja essays the role of Aaniya who shares center stage with Abhay, closing business deals for him. She is an ambitious corporate highflyer who hails from a small town and moved to the city of dreams to pursue her career. After winning the Miss India crown in 2007, Puja made her debut in Bollywood with F.A.L. T.U helmed by Remo D’Souza and most recently she was seen in the zom com Go Goa Gone.

Director, Sethu Sriram said, “It’s a relief that the hunt is over. This role is very critical to the storyline and the girl had to be much more than singing, dancing and looking good. After a lot of deliberations we have decided upon Puja.  Aaniya is an ambitious small town girl so we needed the vulnerability of a small towner along with high glam quotient who would be a head turner. I have auditioned a lot of promising fresh faces and a few upcoming names, some of them were brilliant but Puja fits the bill naturally.  With all humility, I want to thank Abhay who helped me in streamlining the process.”

The shoot begins on 12 July and with no time left the crew is moving at a rocket speed, especially to put Puja’s fashion forward costumes together.