Sheena Chohan has completed the shoot for ‘Nomad’, a Hollywood film that has tied the Guinness World Record for shooting in the most countries – 25. Directed by Taron Lexton, ‘Nomad’ is an unconventional love story filmed across seven continents. In the film, Sheena plays Nadia, a free-spirited traveler.
‘Nomad’ had over 28,000 casting submissions, but Sheena was chosen by casting director Leslie Brown, known for her expertise in independent films and international casting from Los Angeles. Lexton selected Sheena for the Indian character in the film.
While Sheena was shooting in the US, her Hindi film ‘Amar Prem’ was launched at the official Bharat pavilion at Cannes, the world’s most prestigious film festival. Launched by the Joint Minister for Broadcasting, Mr. Sanjiv Shankar, ‘Amar Prem’ is a love triangle with a twist, for which Sheena conducted extensive character research.
Sheena is set to return to India on July 4th, American Independence Day, to finish the final scenes of her negative role as a She Devil in a web series. Following that, she will prepare for her Hindi debut as the lead female character in the feature film ‘Sant Tukaram’.
In ‘Sant Tukaram’, Sheena stars opposite Subodh Bhave, known as the “King of Biopics,” in this Hindi historical drama about the Marathi saint. Sheena went to great lengths to fit into her character Avalai Jija Bai, the saint’s wife. She hired translators to study ancient texts and traveled to the actual village where Sant Tukaram and Avalai Jija Bai lived, spending early mornings with the village women to get into character.
Sheena said: “It’s been thrilling to be shooting in the US, and to have my film launched at Cannes at the same time blew my mind! But now I can’t wait to get back home to India for back-to-back action, first with hours of make-up and then stunts for my She Devil role, then the excitement of ‘Sant Tukaram’ releasing.
I live my life to create these characters with my directors. I have to be a blank page for them, but there’s nothing I love more than my research to understand and fit into these different women. For Avalai Jija Bai I was up at 5 am in the morning and having 17th-century Marathi texts read to me by a historian! I gave so much to this character so I’m thrilled that she’s being brought to life on screen for audiences to meet her and be immersed in Aditya Om’s beautiful telling of her and Sant Tukaram’s lives.
Avalai Jija Bai is fiercely independent. She has beliefs, is full of integrity, and is unwaveringly truthful in her love, in her devotion. Even in the hardest parts of her journey, she carries so much grace and dignity and those were the parts that I connected to – that she went through the worst adversities but held herself with such courage and determination.”
Chohan recently completed a South Indian film alongside veteran actor J.D. Chakravarthy. She says: “Building a diverse filmography has been my goal since my Malayalam debut opposite Mammootty. My extensive theatre background has equipped me to tackle a wide array of characters,” she adds, highlighting the advantage her theatrical experience brings to her on-screen versatility.
Chohan’s impressive portfolio includes prominent projects like Netflix’s ‘The Fame Game’ starring Madhuri Dixit, ‘The Trial’ alongside Kajol, Disney Hotstar’s ‘The City of Dreams 2’, Malayalam film ‘The Train’ directed by seven-time National Award Winner Jayaraj where Sheena launched opposite megastar Mammootty, and two films by Bengali legend Buddhadeb Dasgupta as the lead. Sheena was nominated for Best Actress at the Shanghai and Dubai Film Festivals for her lead role in ‘Ant Story’, which was bought by Netflix.
