Hrithik Roshan is my inspiration: Sooraj Pancholi

Athiya Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi chat with City Times ahead of the release of their debut film 'Hero'.

Salman Khan is going all out to promote the debut of Aditya Pancholi's son Sooraj and Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya in Hero. The Bajrangi Bhaijaan superstar is making sure everyone notices their talents with his production venture. Directed by Nikhil Advani, Hero is a remake of Subhash Ghai's 1983 film of the same name and will hit screens today in the UAE (the original film starred Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri).
City Times spoke to the young actors about anxiety, jitteriness and excitement for their first film.
How did Salman Khan spot you?
Athiya: Actually Salman's sister Alvira and I go to the same gym and she spotted me and then told Salman about me. Salman at that time was looking for a girl for Hero. That's how I got the film.
Sooraj: I was assisting Kabir Khan on Ek Tha Tiger and one night before my birthday, Salman came to my room and told me that he was starting his film production and wanted me in Hero. This was the best birthday gift I could have got.
When did you realise that you wanted to take up acting as a profession?
Athiya: I wanted to be an actress ever since I was young. Acting has always been my hobby and today I am glad that it has become my profession.
Sooraj: After I saw Kaho Na Pyaar Hai I decided I wanted to become an actor. Hrithik Roshan inspired me.
Did you have a proper chat with your fathers once you decided that you wanted to enter this profession?
Athiya: Yes we did and they were extremely supportive and guided us when required. They told us to be ourselves.
Now that the movie is coming out, whose reaction are you most dreading?
Athiya: Subhash Ghai. I hope he enjoys our take on Hero.
Sooraj: For me, it will be my mom.
What kind of preparations did you put in, once it was decided that you would to enter the film world?
Athiya & Sooraj: Acting workshops, dance classes, action and diction workshops to get our basics correct.
What is the best and worst part about being born in a film family?
Athiya & Sooraj: The upside is we get a lot of love and acceptance from the industry and the downside is our struggle goes unnoticed.
Which actor would you like to model your career on?
Athiya: I aspire to do work like Kajol.
Sooraj: I want to be like Hrithik Roshan.
Sooraj, you were constantly in the news for your girlfriend Jiah Khan's suicide during the making of Hero. Where did you derive strength to continue working on your debut film?
From my family.
arti@khaleejtimes.com