“I have no inhibitions as far as kissing scenes are concerned if they are a part of the film”

SNEHA WAGH tells JYOTHI VENKATESH in this exclusive telephonic that it is harmful for you as an actor ifyou get carried away by your reel life character and start behaving in a similar way even in your real life.

What are your thoughts on Corona?

Not just our industry but I think it has sent everyone back by a couple of years. It is a global crisis and the whole world has gone back by 5-6 years. We really have to come together to fight it. Ours is the one of very few generations to have experienced a pandemic. It is for the first time that the world has come to a standstill.

How did you spend your time during lockdown?

I was at home. I watched a lot of movies and shows, painted a few times, cooked often and cleaned and did all those things a normal girl would do. Everyone in my family is a working person but the pandemic gave us a reason to spend some time together.

How is the lockdown treating you?

It is the same as how it is treating you or anyone for that matter. There are times when you get frustrated but you can't do much about it. Initially we wondered how we would survive this phase, but now we have got so used to it that now I am worried how I am going to get back to work when everything starts The couple of times I stepped out of home for essentials I got back feeling tired as if I have done a lot of work which wasn't the case. I wonder how we will be able to go back to shooting 12 hours.

Why did you decide to be an actress?

I did not decide to be an actress. In fact, I never wanted to be an actress. I entered this industry unplanned but started loving my job. I started liking the appreciation that I was getting and I just walked ahead.

How did you get your break?

It was during my school days when I was in the 9^th grade. I was a classical dancer and I was doing a dance reality show. The channel’s executive producer came to my mom and told her that I had a good face and could speak well and hence wanted to cast me in a project. And my mom couldn’t believe it. She had to talk to my dad about it too. At home, everything was sorted and suddenly I was in front of the camera saying a few lines. I did not perform well at first, but later I got a hang of it and then acting never stopped for me. I never looked back but kept moving ahead.

Did it affect your studies?

No, it didn’t. I am still a computer science graduate from Birla College. I learnt filmmaking from London Film Academy and plan to make a film one day.

Would you cast yourself in the film?

That is yet to be decided. You cannot apply two minds at one time. You can't resort to two timing. When you put your head in one thing, it should perfectly remain in that one thing. Because, if I am the actor and I am also the producer, I don’t think I will be able to handle myself in that situation. Switching on and off the roles of an actor and a director or producer would be very difficult for me and it will take a toll on my health too. The stress of delivering multiple things at the same time gets on to an actor’s health.

Were you not scared of the Syndrome of the casting couch?

I had heard of the casting couch but I never went into a direction that I felt was fishy. I am ambitious but not to an extent where I would exploit or get exploited for my talent. I know that I am talented and believe in my art. Moreover I had heard of so many people who got exploited and did not even get work. I am of a firm belief that if something is meant for me and is part of my destiny it will come my way.

You shot to fame with the TV serial Jyoti. What exactly is your role in the show?

Jyoti was on air when I was very young, exactly 11 years back. The show is about a girl who is the eldest daughter who takes the entire responsibility of the house, on her slender shoulders, since her father is handicapped. She is studying and working. She teaches dance and does everything that she can to provide for the family. Later she gets to know how she is being cheated by her own mother, her brother and her boyfriend. It’s a roller coaster ride of human emotions. It was very well received when it was first aired on TV and I am very glad that Dangal TV has decided to bring it back. The channel has such a wonderful reach among the masses. I'm sure it'll help us tell the story of Jyoti to a lot more people.

How easy or tough was it for you to get into the skin of the character of Jyoti?

I am a very emotional person. If you see me reading a book I would be shedding tears or crying while watching a movie. I get very empathetic to the human emotional value. For me to get into the skin of the character was very easy. If you see the character of Jyoti, it was so relatable because everybody goes through problems. It was not only women who related to the character/show, even men were related to it because it was very natural as when there is responsibility on one person's shoulder the situation becomes difficult for that one person.

The biggest problem with me was Hindi. I came from a convent school and the Marathi film and TV industry. So I had to go through a lot of training to pronounce the words and to get the language right as it was my first Hindi show. If you pronounce a certain word in a certain way the emotional value of the word changes. Since it was a very humanly connected show, they wanted to maintain that. They were strict with me so that I learnt the language thoroughly since I spoke modern Mumbaiya Hindi.

Could you identify with your character in real life?

I did identify in some ways, because being the elder daughter of the house you feel those responsibilities on you not just monetarily but emotionally also and then you tend to take things very practically because you learn to deal with it in some or the other way. I too have a sister who is very young.

How many Marathi serials did you have to your credit before Jyoti?

I have done three serials. One of my shows was very popular, Kaata Rute Konala, where I played the lead character of Chandana who was also an emotional girl in the house. The other one was Adhuri Ek Kahani. The third one I did for a few months and then I was picked for Jyoti.

After Jyoti, how many serials have you done?

I did quite a few shows, Ek Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera, which became quite popular. I also did Mere Sai, Chandragupta Maurya,Maharaja Ranjit Singh and now I am doing Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram.

What is your role in Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram?

I am playing the mother of Bal Hanuman – Mata Anjana, who is the powerhouse of hanuman.

What about films?

I have always gone through what came my way. I did not change my path to get something different/out of the way. I did Marathi films like Gruhlaxmi, Chingi (with Girija Oak and Milind Gawali),  Be Dune Saade Chaar which was an out and out comedy film, with Sushant Shelar, Sanjay Narvekar, Sai Tamhankar, Resham Tipnis and Mohan Joshi.

How was your experience in Marathi films?

Honestly, they are not my cup of tea. I don't take up any project; I prefer to wait for something outstanding to come my way.

In what way have you grown as an actor over the years?

I have definitely grown as an actress because first I was a little way too young to understand, but now I am getting connected with the characters that I do. Initially, you tend to get carried away as an actor, which may be good at times, but it also harms you in a certain way. When I did Veera, I got influenced by my character which was so gloomy that I stopped talking to people even in real life. For around 2-3 months I was in a major gloomy phase. Then I realized this is not right and I shouldn’t be doing this to myself. So, I started learning a few tricks to switch on and off between characters. I started keeping my professional and personal life different to avoid any psychological conflicts. I had to work hard on not carrying my television role onto my personal life. Sometimes, you get carried away by your reel life character and tend to start behaving in a similar way even in your real life. While shooting for films, it doesn’t affect you much, but for television it could become harmful because you are doing a show for a year or more and that harms an actor’s personal life and I wanted to avoid this.

Which are your 5 best TV serials?

Besides Jyoti which was the best of all, Veera, Kaata Rute Konala which was a Marathi serial and my recent favorite Mere Sai. I played the role of Tulsi and it was a beautiful character. And lastly, Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram, is my latest favorite serial because I am getting to play a mythological character.

How difficult is it to play the role of a goddess?

For a person like me, who is very hyper in real life, it was extremely difficult. I am a person who cannot sit in one place for more than 5-10 minutes. I need to keep moving, doing something every minute. However, for this character I had to calm myself from head to toe. Because the movement, the body language and the language you use, the way you speak has to be so godly, that when I gave my first shot, the director kept asking for takes. I was puzzled as to why he asked for so many takes. At the end of day, he told me that he wanted to see the godliness in me. He suggested that I calm down and forget everything that’s happening on the set and only focus on my character. And I realized how I had to deliver better. Also, yoga helped me a lot. The peace of mind, body and soul had to be showcased on my face and in my dialogues. It was a tedious job initially, but then after a week, I got into the skin of the character. You cannot speak like a human but like a goddess. And that is very difficult.

Are you game for exposure when it comes to glamour?
First things first, I am an actor and I do everything as an actor. If a role requires me to do it, I would, but not at the cost of only dressing up and dancing around trees, but it has to add to my skills. An actor is an actor and work is work, if something is sincerely required to be performed, I wouldn’t mind.

Are you open for web series?

Yes, I am open to web series. I have watched quite a few myself and would love to explore them.

Tejaswini, Priya Bapat etc had to indulge in kissing and doing semi nudes scenes in web series and people are talking about it. Would you be open to such roles?
It depends on the role. If it is bound to happen as an actor, it has to happen. If it helps with the character and story development, as an actor I would not mind. I don’t believe in nudity as a concept to get fame and eyeballs. I believe in good projects. If the project is good and nice and it has no ‘stupid’ scenes, then I am fine with it.

Do you have any inhibition as far as kissing is concerned?

No, I have no inhibitions as far as kissing scenes are concerned since it will be a part of the acting need. It has got nothing to do with London. In fact, London actually opened my mind vividly and I am not a typical “Aayiga” Marathi actress.

How have you grown as an actress over the years?
I used to get carried away as an actor earlier but now I don’t. I now know how to stop myself emotionally, as I dive deeper into the character. Earlier, if a sad scene required me to cry, there would be times where I would not be able to stop myself. I can now draw the line.

What is your concept of Mr. Right?
I am single but I don’t want to mingle. I think I am out of all those zones and phases of life, where partner is my priority. Earlier we had the sugar coated concept of being settled by way of marriage, but things are no more like that.

How would you define a relationship? Is it worth cultivating or is it detrimental for an actor?

Good actors are always in the limelight. People judge them in every sense. Right from their social status to what they are wearing to what you marital status quo is. So, yes actors do get judged a lot, even for their personal relationships. People tend to forget that we are human beings at the end of the day and we too have to go through problems and have an emotional side, just like any other normal person. Talking about relationships, it’s good if someone feels a certain way about another person and that person also reciprocates but each to its own.  I don’t think they should be judged for it. As Indians our first mentality is to judge someone. It needs to be changed a little and everything else will be normal then.

Who are your 5 favorite actors?
Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kishore Kumar and Raj Kapoor

Name the directors on your wish list!

I really want to work with Zoya Akhtar and Imtiaz Ali as they really go deep with the subjects they choose. Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are also in my wish list. I would like to work in a Marathi movie too.

Name your 5 favorite actresses!

I love Vyjayanthimala, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone

Would you say you are an introvert?

I wouldn't say I am an introvert, as if you engage in a conversation with me, it can go on and on for hours. I love to share the knowledge that I have and also gain some from the other person. But I'm picky as to who I spend my time with.

What next?

The only show that I am doing of late is Kahat Hanuman - Jai Shree Ram on air on &TV.