Apart from being her big Bollywood debut, Prithviraj will be etched in Manushi Chhillar’s memory forever. The former Miss World was caught in a sandstorm while shooting for Dr Chandrapraksh Dwivedi’s directorial venture starring Akshay Kumar. It is learnt that during the marathon spell of the historical drama in Jaisalmer’s Thar desert, the crew had to evacuate the location one day due to a sudden sandstorm. Manushi was atop a sand due for her scene which the crew was filming from below, when disaster struck. They tried to indicate to the newbie to run down but she couldn’t understand anything. “Suddenly, someone from the choreography team pushed me down, and I literally rolled down a sand dune and they caught hold of me,” she recalls. Remembering the scary moment when the sandstorm blew over them and caused a blackout, Manushi adds, “I was whisked off to my vanity van and we all took cover. We resumed shooting after some time, but it was quite a strong sandstorm.” 

Auspicious beginnings