It was great having her on the sets because the set often became high-spirited and full of energy, because of Sonakshi.” She is really vivacious and it rubs off on to the people who are around her. The bonhomie and the camaraderie that both Happys must have shared while shooting for the film is evident when the mention of Sonakshi crops up in the conversation. His character is someone who works in the Indian embassy and thus speaks Mandarin,” reveals Diana. The onus to speak Chinese in the film fell on Jassie Gill. We did not have to speak Chinese because in the film, me and Sonakshi just happen to land in China and had to speak our own language. There is double happiness, double confusion, double trouble and double fun too.
There are two of us now, so there is double of everything. While the first instalment of the laugh riot had its comedy rooted in the chaos that ensued between India and Pakistan, the second installment will see addition of another country – China. Later on, her range was revealed in films like Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran and Lucknow Central. The U-turn helped filmmakers took notice of the acting shades in Diana who once could have made her Bollywood debut with Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar but had said no to the film. When Happy Bhag Jayegi released in 2016, it showed a facet of Diana which was in complete contrast with the slightly subdued and serious persona of the actress which audiences witnessed in her debut film Cocktail. The actress also adds that when she read the script, she was not jealous of Sonakshi as she comprehended the importance of both the characters and how it was essential that both take the film forward. I think my character Happy, as was the original, is a small town girl who is completely moohfat and impulsive, and said whatever came to her mind while Sonakshi is more measured and controlled,” informs Diana. Personality wise, I think, me and Sonakshi are quite different in the film as well. “To be honest, when Mudassar narrated the story to me, I think it was really beautiful how he managed to keep the two Happys completely different from each other yet there is something about them that’s very similar. Diana Penty and Sonakshi Sinha in a still from Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi.