‘Want to do finite shows only’

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‘Want to do finite shows only’

Sunday, 08 March 2020 | Shalini Saksena

‘Want to do finite shows only’

HARSHITA GAUR, who rose to fame with Sadda Haq on Channel V, speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about her journey and Happily Ever After, a series on Zoom Studios

From being a model to an actor. How did the transition happen?

My stint as a model was for a short time only; I did only two-three advertisements. My professional career started as an actor. When people come to Mumbai, they all want is a break in Bollywood. This is because  there is something fascinating about the industry. Everybody is waiting for that first call from a particular production house. I was no different. To begin with I didn’t want to do Sadda Haq. But now when I look back, I am so happy that I did it. There was no choice that I would do TV and then move on to films.  You can’t decide these things; it happen organically. All that you can do is to decide whether the project that has come your way interests you or not. 

How did your parents react when you said you wanted to be an actor?

When I told my parents that I wanted to go into acting, the idea was not met with a lot of resistance form my parents. They are doctors and supported me in my decision. They were only worried since they didn’t know anybody in the industry. They had never come to Mumbai. My mother was an actor, she did theatre for nine years. I was into a lot of dramatics in school and learnt Kathak since I was in Class III, so the inclination towards art was always there. I wanted to be part of Miss World but they don’t take people who are 5’4”.

You studied engineering and come from a family of doctors. How did acting happen?

My parents knew I was more interested in  pursuing this line. They were a bit on the backfoot when I said  I wanted to make it my profession. They insisted that I complete my education. They were very clear that they would not let me come to Mumbai on my own at age 18.  If I had my way I would have been in the city at that age. But things fell in place. I was in college, then Sadda Haq happened. I was luckily that I had work when I came to Mumbai. My struggle in the industry happened after that show ended.

You have done TV, web series and films. Has it been a conscious decision to have a diverse portfolio?

There was only one conscious decision when I picked up projects — to do finite shows. When I did TV, it was almost infinite since it ran for almost two-and-a-half-years. I loved that show and it would stay with me forever and be that special one. After that I didn’t do any more TV because none of them were finite. I wanted to be part of stories that interested me and had a finite end. When the show ended in 2016, the OTT platforms were not so popular. I was looking for films. Then a South Indian film happened. With web coming in, it opened a lot of opportunities and Sacred Games and Mirzapur happened. Whatever choice you make can be right or wrong but as long as long as you like what you are doing it’s fine. I don’t want to take up projects because I want to make money.

What is you role in Happily Ever After?

My role is that of a civil engineer from a Punjabi family. She has been with this person and now they want to get married — a big fat Indian wedding. But the couple want to plan it on their own. So a budget comes in. But there are so many expenditures and that is when the problems happen. It is an interesting love story. There is a parallel story as well which shows how they met and fell in love.

What was the attraction?

I had not done this kind of role. I have done roles where my character is from a small town. I have not done a role where the character is suave. The genre was different as well. I also said yes because my friends during this period were getting married and the subject was relatable. Also I wanted to do something that was easy and fun after Mirzapur.

Do you personally believe in happily ever after?

First, there is no ever after, nothing ever ends. Even in a three hour film, there is no full stop. Being happy is a process. Problems will always be there, you sort it and move on. When two people want to be part of each other’s life, they should sort it out to be happily ever after.

So happily ever after is a fun series?

Yes. It has lot of fun and is very relatable. It is going to be an easy watch.

Was it tough to do comedy?

I have never done comedy. This is a genre that I had never done before. Even with Happily Every After, it is the situations that are comic mostly by co-actors. I am not doing comedy here. But it is a light show for me.

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