'Anushka has the spark’

If Farah Khan had SRK romancing 21-something Deepika Padukone, Aditya Chopra has gone a step ahead and got him a 19-year-old leading lady.

Aditya, who last directed Mohabbatein and is rumouredly making an Indian take on My Fair Lady , has signed model Anushka Sharma for the lead role opposite Shah Rukh. And in typical Adi style, barred her from speaking about the film!

However, people who have worked with the model earlier say there is a star quality about the girl. Bangalore’s style guru Prasad Bidapa says Anushka’s star quality was evident even when she was brought to him by her parents when she was just 13.

“She was very tall and beautiful even then,” recalls Prasad. “Her parents were keen she should do some modelling without losing out on her studies, so she started off very easy and gently. Even then, one look at her and you knew she would hit the big time soon. Her and SRK’s age gap won’t matter, we are used to that in our films.”

As Yash Chopra says about her, “We were looking for someone who could truly embody the spirit of small town Punjab and Anushka fit in perfectly. And while she has no previous acting experience, we have seen that unique spark in her that makes us confident that she will be a standout even opposite SRK.”

Designer Wendell Rodricks is one of those who say he spotted a special something in the young model. “I recognised that quality she had – innocent yet beautiful – and took her to Mumbai to the fashion week to model for me. Anushka has an expressive face that can look tragic at times and youthful and shy at other times.”