Udan Patolas charts journey of four girls who move from Patiala to Mumbai. Their transformation makes for a thrilling ride

Mona

Four Punjabi girls move to the city of dreams, Mumbai. Their struggle to fit into the high society and escapades that follow is the storyline of Udan Patolas. An official remake of Israeli show Honey Badgers, the story has been written by Amritsar girl Sukhmani Sadana. Interestingly, it’s the first time she also plays a character written by her!

On Monday, the three leading ladies of the show, Poppy Jabbal, Aassttha Sidana and Sukhmani Sadana, came to Chandigarh for promotions. “Writing this adaptation took rather long. While Honey Badgers is about small-town friends, I wanted my four girls from Punjab in this journey,” says Sukhmani.

Coming from an all-girls’ school followed by an all-girls’ college, Sukhmani developed characters and story from the life she has lived. While passionately talking about casting one day, the producer offered her a role and she lapped it up.

One would think playing a character one has written should be easy, but Sukhmani differs, “While writing, I had no clue that I would get to play Lovelle. When playing a character written by someone else, I try to get into the space and live it. Playing a character written by me only with everyone’s expectation, I found it challenging.” Lovely Singh changes her name to Lovelle to sound stylish; while on the outside she plays this really tough girl, she is vulnerable inside.

Packing a punch

Lovelle is joined by Noor and Amrit, played by Aassttha Sidana and Poppy Jabbal, respectively. Aassttha wore her West Delhi tag with pride and felt at ease playing Noor. “Hum West Delhi wale thode gunde hote hain. I have always been tomboyish and fitted Noor’s mould perfectly,” she says.

This Delhi girl packed her bags after a year’s stint in Mumbai to be back in Delhi when her casting agent insisted on her giving this audition. “Literally, I flew with my briefcase to the audition and back to Delhi. It felt amazing to get the role after 239 girls were rejected,” she adds.

Leading this pack is Amrit aka Poppy Jabbal. “Amrit is like this girl from small town who has made a mark in Mumbai. She takes the three girls under her wing, telling them the tricks of the trade—having sushi over parantha and how to dress and talk like the elite do,” says Poppy. She, in fact, drew a leaf from her real-life experiences. “I always lived this cocooned life at Bhilai, Chattisgarh. When I went to London to study, the first thing I did was chop my hair and feel free.”

While one enjoys the camaraderie amongst the three, the fourth, Punni aka Puneet, played by Apoorva Arora, was not present doing the event. “She is just the most innocent; you will feel love for her in every scene,” they echo.

Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Sol Productions, Udan Patolas is directed by Shakti Sagar Chopra. “Handling four gutsy girls on the sets is not an easy job, not only did he do it but also helmed the show well,” says Poppy. “To pick a story written by a woman, with four starring in it, sure takes a lot. Shakti has done a commendable job in bringing my vision alive,” says Sukhmani.

(The series will be available on Amazon miniTV, which is a free app, from June 10)

White stands for delight

Sukhmani Sadana has been acting and writing for a while. Having moved her base to Mumbai, Sukhmani forever struggled to tell her parents what she was actually doing. “It finally took a walk at Cannes for them to finally say, ‘We are proud of you’.” Always a fan of Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Sukhmani dressed in a white saree for Cannes, matching it with jewellery from Amrapali. “I wanted to wear a white saree while representing my country, I feel so glad that Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla made my dream come true.” Sukhmani’s Cannes’ debut was for the film Rocketary and she is a part of the team of writers.

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