Why Parineeti Chopra doesn’t follow Saina Nehwal on Instagram: ‘We never became friends,’ says badminton star

Parineeti Chopra earned praise for her performance in the biopic drama Saina, where she portrayed badminton champion Saina Nehwal. However, several social media users recently noticed that while Saina follows Parineeti on Instagram, the actor does not follow her back. The observation sparked online chatter, prompting Saina to finally address the matter.During a recent conversation with Subhojit Ghosh on his YouTube channel, Saina clarified that her association with Parineeti was strictly professional and never extended beyond the requirements of the film. Reacting to the fact that Parineeti does not follow her back on Instagram, Saina admitted that she had never paid attention to it.“Actually, I did not notice this and na kabhi dhyan gaya hain ispe. Kyunki life has been so busy with my training and tournaments and events ki iss cheez pe dhyan nahi gaya. Jitna bhi baatein hui hain humari, it's not like ki friends ban gaye the kuch... in a few sessions I was also like a professional telling her ki maine life mein kya-kya kiya, maine kuch bola hi nahi ki maine friendship kari thi ya kuch,” she said.Saina explained that their conversations were limited to discussing her life journey and professional experiences, with no expectation of forming a personal bond.Elaborating further, Saina emphasised that Parineeti’s involvement was strictly for the film and that neither of them had the time to socialise beyond work.“It was totally a professional work for which she was there and I knew that. I was busy with my training so that I also could not give so much of time. Ki hum dinners ya lunch pe jaaye. Utna kabhi hua nahi.” She added that their meetings were brief and always centred around the film.“Jitna bhi 1-2 ghante mein, once in 2-3 weeks hum milke, director saab was there... and I explained to her about my journey and all that. Aisa kuch bhi nahi tha ki humne bohot time spend kiya taki hum friends ban sake, it was mostly about the work which she was about to do... But humne kuch zyada friendship nahi banayi thi to follow or unfollow.”As of January 29, neither Saina Nehwal nor Parineeti Chopra follow each other on Instagram, putting an end to speculation around any personal fallout. Released in theatres in 2021, Saina received mixed reviews from critics, though Parineeti Chopra’s performance was widely appreciated. The biopic is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.