Some people are naturally good built but those who workout they know they can do anything because it takes a lot of hard-work to start or working out and to keep doing it.
1. Tell us about your background and journey?
I came from a very small town khajrhao which is in Madhya Pradesh which is a central of attraction for its erotic sculptures and while growing up we had a very limited exposure to the modern world so I was somebody who use to wear salwar suit, been very simple back then and was very uncomfortable with my body while growing up and at the same time not knowing what to become.
What to do and how to actually dream big but eventually with the guidance of my parents and both of them are professors in government college.
I became an engineer and after that i knew that I have to do something different what other people aspire to do so it happened but it has been very beautiful and long long journey because when you don't have the exposure, usually the struggle makes it little longer.
And I think eventually it crowns you at the same time and you can play longer innings so in a way my journey so far has it's really about humbleness and groundness why I think is one of the reason I connect so well with the audience and they feel like part of the family.
I have one brother, he is also an engineer amd everybody excpected him also to do his job but eventually he followed his dream and became what he wanted to. When you come from a small town, you happen to make a difference on the other directly or indirectly and that's exactly what I have seen in my life so I am very blessed.
2. How can one approach their career and have the confidence and belief to become an actor?
Well how one can approach their career and have the confidence and belief to become an actor us something that is very individual, I think there are no rules to it but I think it all comes back to something which you can comprehend it but the thing is the very fact that you have to see it so what I am taking here is about believing in a dream believing in a goal and knowing that somewhere or the other it will happen. Right now you may not have an idea how your life is going to turn up.
If you have a vague plan, map or graph of life or visualization of life of how you want to live, what kind of lifestyle or partner or career you have, I think it becomes little easier because life unfolds accordingly.
Half of the things happen with me is about miracle and also keep working when nobody is watching you, the preparation time is what may give you the result so for me it is always been the practice of doing something or the other.
So I think there ia no set rule of becoming an actor actually when we are in uncertain times of covid - 19 we don't know what really works and what is going to work eventually because everything is changing the whole industry is changing so fast that you can't even say but what is in our hands is become so skilled that none can ignore you and also do not rely on one thing keep doing multiple things, have your money coming from passive incomes and have multiple source of streams specially when you want to be an actor.
Do not put all into acting because it is very unpredictable risky job for sure.
3. How can one maintain a healthy lifestyle?
I think the secret to maintain a healthy lifestyle is about having a healthy mindset. It all comes to how happy and peaceful you are.
The number one thing that tops the list for me is absolutely meditation and yoga and these are very fancy words that everybody says and we all know what one is to be done but we really don't do it. This is coming from my own experience.
It really helps because eventually you realize what is important and what is not specially when you have a decision to make about going for a cake you know that instant gratification or doing a work out which is delayed gratification.
The result will be seen after six months or years so the choice when we choose delayed gratification instead of instant gratification that decide the goal of a lifestyle that how healthy or how peaceful you are going to be in a longer run.
4. What is your opinion of body image created by the media and how hard it is to put up with it?
My opinion of body image created by the media, infact it's not about body image but about the perception of people, everything is about perception in the world.
Absolutely, I believe the perception is what actually sense. when Imraan Hashmi came into the industry he was known as a kisser - a good one and that's what actually worked for him.
We talk about my personal experience with the body image, to be honest I don't mind being called the sexy one because i know i am and i take absolute pride in it because i know how much everyone want to be that. It's a very good feeling, you feel like a queen when you know that you've got it all.
But yes one thing I find that is very hard that association which comes with the image, the association of thinking that she is sexy then she is easy and she is available for a price and she had done a show that is not A-grade but thinks like that so the association that had happened because of 'Gandi Baat', because it was an Alt Balaji so whatsoever the reason is or the way it was filmed.
They think that class is somewhere missing but I think it's not like that it's depends on Individual whether or not they are articulated, whether or not they have the understanding to choose eventually going forward that what kind of role they want to choose or what kind of intellect they have our what kind of people they hang out with.
There is more to the person than the role he chooses to play but somewhere I think I had that difficulty in breaking the perception of the 'Gandi Baat girl' which I have left far behind and yes I am still sexy but I have become much more that image, i have outgrown long ago but people still call me that which I think is under valued Statement to make that's all.
5. How important is social media validation in your profession?
It's very important you cannot deny it but despite having 19.3 Million guardians I can tell you this again is going to be a very temporary thing because eventually when tiktok came everybody thought their future and dreamt to be a tiktoker and they thought it's an easy way to earn fame but nothing comes easily and I am not saying that gaining audience is easy, a lot of people find it very very hard to actually gain it.
As much as I love my audience I am mentally prepared in myself that it is going to be about skills, it is only and only going to be about talent because for how long you can rely on actor or an influencer for a big project, you won't and if star or an actor or if a social media influencer is thinking that I have my audience and I am going to rule then that's a wrong approach toward it because that is just an adorned perception, just an adorned audience and those things don't really last if you are not worthy of it.
Shahrukh khan is consistently proving himself to be very classy and witty intelligent man, the day something goes wrong there and he just stops being classy the audience will just move away, other than your family member.
No one will stand by you if you start acting stupid that's all it is about so if you are a good person and someone who is having that X-factor, you will keep your audience on that and definitely they'll jweal on crown but if not then that's not something that will take you very far.
6. How can one take care of their mental health in this high pressure glamorous field?
It begins and it ends with self love because the beauty of standards will always be there, it has been there and will always be there but you see it depends on how you look at things. Glamour in these days in industry specially not anymore about beauty and size and figure and glam quotient of it.
It had became an overall package. One important thing is however I am and however I look, I an going to be comfortable with my skin because camera never lies. If you are in front of camera acting, singing, modeling or whatever you are doing if you are not okay and if you are going to buttocks and surgeries for it, it will show up on face.
People don't hate plastic faces because they do something wrong with it but it reflects the insecurity that you have despite being beautiful you are overdoing it.
Sense of insecurity is so clearly seen that it takes the charm away so i think it starts with self love, love yourself whatsoever and if you look there are so many actors and actresses however they look they are brilliant in whatever they do, they are awesome.
Like Tabu is defining that age is nothing she is still winning hearts despite being in industry for about 25-30 years, look at her, nobody can even match up with her so it is not really about body size or anything it is actually about how comfortable you are with yourself and how much you love yourself and somehow acting well, singing well and feeling confident in your skin is very very proportional to how you feel about yourselves.
7. How do diet and exercise contribute in overall well-being and happiness?
Diets and exercises contribute definitely because they say that you think like what you eat in a day. There are studies and research is done with group of people where they were given some heavy, deep fried non vegetarian, not easily to digest food, they tracked their mental health and thought process and on other hand there were group of people.
They were just fed veggies, green leaf vegetables avoided dairy and milk products mostly vegan king of food so the results showed the latter were happy and lighter and much more with peace because there digestive system is not getting consumed in digesting food rather it helps in detoxify your body, it's keeping you relaxed and you are releasing more of dopamine and endorphins in your body so that's why it is said what you eat is what you become.
It adds on to your confident when you look good you know you are worthy of something because imagine the world population how many fit people you actually see.
Some people are naturally good built but those who workout they know they can do anything because it takes a lot of hard-work to start or working out and to keep doing it.
8. Is singing really your passion and have you thought to further try to sing in movies like other actors?
I actually came to Bombay to pursue singing and acting at same time because I think i can do both.
Singing has always been my passion, I remember after 12th class i wanted to go to Indian idol and I didn't ate food for two days because my mom and dad they didn't allowed me to go to the auditions because they didn't want me to be in media. They wanted me to get married. But I think your passion eventually finds you.
They say universe falls in love with the stubborn hearts that's what happened with me and then i left music for about five - six years or infact more than that.
But eventually after back to Bombay after getting fame of any kind I thought now I am going to live my dream so that was the day I started training very seriously in classical singing and its been the years and i have recorded few songs.
My new album is coming soon and yes I am really looking forward to sing in bollywood films very soon.
9. Who is your favourite artist and why?
I think in our generation the best actor and the best artist is Ranbir Kapoor. I think acting is definitely in his blood for sure that can be easily seen but the effort that he makes, the sincerity that is there in him is evident that i have to really give it to him and any character he plays is with total perfection so he is totally worthy of it.
10. Which is your favourite book and why?
I think i will go with the 'power of now' by Eckhart Tolle. This book actually changed my life personally because I used to be very stressed about my future and how well I shape my future.
But now after reading that book I realize that all I have to focus is my present moment and that's all there is. So i think about how this day work for me so it has become a habit of filling the _gharha_drop by drop every single day so that ot can get filled and give me result one day so small steps towards success really helps.
- Interviewed By Kusum Jha
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