How Can He Just Call Me And Say No

Director Luv Ranjan’s Pyaar Ka Punchnama franchise was the stepping stone for Kartik Aaryan and Nushrratt Bharuccha’s careers. But did you know that it could mark a huge shift in actor Patralekhaa’s career too? During a recent conversation with Mashable India, the actress revealed that she had auditioned for the second installment of the film, but she was rejected. But it was the way of rejection that took her by surprise, and it took her a while to come to terms with that.

Speaking about her audition experience, Patralekhaa shared, “Before CityLights, I was auditioning for Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. Luv sir was taking the auditions, and his auditions are always very elaborate. There was Nushrratt, Kartik, Omkar, Sunny, and many other girls. These three-four people were finalised, and they wanted 2 more new faces. I auditioned, and felt that I will get this role.”

“Then later on, I was in the gym, and Luv Ranjan called me. Phone tab aata hai jab aapko milta hai (You get a call when you bag the role). He asked me to come over and I felt so excited. I took a shower and wore my best clothes to head over to his office,” the IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack actress added.

But what awaited her was not what she had in mind. “He sat me down and no one was there, it was just me and him. In my mind, I thought that he will break the good news and people will come in with flowers, chocolates, and cakes. He said, ‘Yaar, yeh jaane de (Let this one go)’. At that moment, I felt really bad and thought, ‘How can he just call me and say no to my face, its not cool,'” she shared.

The actress shared that even though she was upset initially, but soon she realised that her takeaway from this experience was how she was treated with so much respect despite the rejection. She shared, “I came out and was super upset. I went back home and it dawned upon me later that he gave me so much respect as an artist and actor. He calls me to his office and says, ‘Beta nahi hopaaya, but hum aage jaake kaam karenge na (Child, it couldn’t work out this time, but we’ll work together in the future)’. That’s a lot, and I think that’s why I got Wild Wild Punjab.”

Patralekhaa was last seen in the 2024 film Wild Wild Punjab, which also featured Varun Sharma, Jassie Gill, Sunny Singh, and others.