ASHI SINGH who plays a lead role in the show Meet, speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about the challenges of the character and how she got the Haryanvi accent correct

How did you come on board for this show?

I auditioned two months before I got selected. I really liked the character when I auditioned but I had no expectations that I would be selected.

What is the best part about playing Meet?

The best thing is that I get to do so much and I get to do so many new things which I haven’t done before as Ashi. I still don’t do those things as Ashi but Meet is quite different in that way. I get to do a lot of new experiments and get to learn a lot.

Despite negativity around her— from her grandmother— what keeps her motivated?

Here I relate to Meet a little bit because in my real life also I try to focus on positive aspects and ignore negativity. So, when I am playing Meet, it is like let grandma say whatever she wants to, I will be happy. I practice that a lot in my real life too. My friends, my whole street loves me so much and the memories I have with my parents, I spend  my time cherishing them rather than Dadi. Of course I get hurt by what Dadi does but there are other things which Meet can focus on and move on.

What were the challenges to play Meet and get the Haryanvi accent correct?

I can give you a list of challenges. There were a lot! First of all, practicing riding a bike and body language were tough. Each and every scene that I am doing like climbing on a window or anything which involves some kind of stunt has been very challenging for me because I am not that adventurous in  my real life nor have I done anything of that sort before. If I am scared of doing something, I cannot express that because my character is not that. I have never played cricket in my life, never ever held a cricket bat because I used to hate it. And if I talk about getting the Haryanavi accent, I am still not sure about my ability to speak it properly. Whenever I listen to my voice talking in Haryanvi, I never like it. But few people from Haryana asked me if I am from Haryana and that was like a huge compliment, which means I have achieved it. I have worked hard though.

I believe the track will lead to you— Meet marrying Meet. What happens next. Can you give us a sneak peek?

Yes that was the story. After that, it is like the guy doesn’t love the girl. There are a lot of responsibilities on the girl after she gets married. Before she had only one family to take care of but now she has so much on her plate. You will for sure get to see some family drama but it would be in Meet’s style. It would be different. Meet is not an innocent girl who would keep quiet if someone says something to her. She speaks back too and she has her own way to do things. You will see all that drama in Meet’s way and it is a great story ahead.

How did you end up in acting?

I don't remember really liking anything else apart from acting and dancing. The glamour industry has always attracted me since I was very small. I always wanted to be an actress and stars worked in my favour. I came to Mumbai for schooling, later my parents pushed me to do an acting course. But they also asked me to stop and I could not stop because they triggered my childhood wish and it was quite tough to lose all that. So, I just started giving auditions and stars worked in my favour.

You have done  a fre music videos. How has this experience been? How much fun has it been?

It has been a good experience. In fact the shooting for music videos is a one day or two days shoot. I really like to meet people, I like to go out.

When I do music videos, I meet a lot of new people. It is not like shooting for daily soap where you meet the same set of people everyday, which is also a blessing in itself because they become your family. Only drawback is that you don’t get to meet new people. While doing music videos, you go out, you explore more and you get to learn new things. So, it is like a life experience. Moreover, working for a music video you can experiment on yourself which you cannot always do in terms of your looks and character.

How much do you relate to Meet?

There are things where I do not relate to Meet at all. Meet is very different from me, whatever she does I never did or do that in real  life. But yes, we think alike and I relate to her in that aspect a lot. I have realised that it is Ashi’s character which I have given to Meet in terms of thinking positively.