Udaariyan star Chetna Singh: I am inspired by actors who can present big things in a very normal way and you instantly relate to them

Chetna Singh plays the role of Simran in Udaariyaan, produced by Ravie Dubey and Sargun Mehta’s Dreamiyata Entertainment. The actor enjoys playing her character, but she does not relate much to it. Also, unlike Simran, she is not married in real life - JYOTHI VENKATESH

“Simran is more shy, while I am a very hyper-active child, active and mischievous. The only bit that is similar between us is that we both are family-oriented. The response I have received from the day I’ve started shooting and the first time when I went to my hometown ??? has been very special and overwhelming.

I have got my fan following and fan pages. Everyone remembered me as Simran Didi and not Chetna in spite of being a supporting actor in the show and that made me feel very special,” she says.

Chetna has been getting good reviews from the team as well. “I still remember our director Uttam sir and Satish ji told me that they really like my acting.

They both are very capable and amazing. I am so glad I got a chance to work with them. My mother got too emotional in one of my family scenes which made me feel very proud,” she adds.

On working with the Dreamiyata team, she shares an incident. “Earlier when I used to intern in a radio station, once Sargun ma’am had come there to promote a movie. I wasn’t allowed inside the room because I was an intern.

Later when I became an Rj, Sargun ma’am was the one who launched me and now she gave me a chance to work in her show. I am so proud to say that I am one of the products of Dreamiyata.

Sargun ma’am works day and night. She is a superpower girl, so enthusiastic and amazing. She is my inspiration. Ravie sir and Sargun are the power couple, they teach me a lot,” she smiles.

Chetna shares that the team is shooting the show in Karad, in Satara district. I don’t miss it so much because I live in Punjab itself. So, I usually go and meet my family often. But my co-actors live really far so it’s very difficult for them and they are not able to visit their respective families,” she adds.

Punjabi culture, language, and people, in short Punjabi stories have huge popularity in India these days. “Not just stories from Punjabi stories but Punjabi music are also very popular. I’m very happy that Punjabi comedy also has many takers.

But a lot of generalisation happens and many think that if that person is a Punjabi toh woh bas balle balle shava shava karta hoga. So, I’m very thankful and grateful to God that the casting of our show is done very carefully.

We have actors, who have Punjabi backgrounds, the reason why they understand the concept and culture well. The show highlights reality and is therefore relatable,” she says.

About the two trends that Chetna has noticed in the TV industry, “First would be that good TRP matters. If you’re there for two days, you don’t know when the two-day track goes to two months or two years so I’ve seen this trend a lot and if you don’t have a TRP on your name then even if you work for two years then also you might pack up in two days or two hours.

These are the biggest trends that I’ve noticed. The second thing is that people have started making a lot of behind-the-scenes videos, not just for our show but a lot of other shows, it never happened earlier. So the promotion on social media is a plus,” she adds.

About how she unwinds after a hard day’s work, Chetna shares, “I listen to music to relax myself. I also enjoy writing and manifesting. I love doing meditation, it calms me. Among other things, I love eating popcorn and watching Oswald.

Animated movies are my guilty pleasure. I am a thorough Potterhead. All these things help me rejuvenate.” Chetna believes in natural actors. “I love actors who can present big things in a very normal way and you instantly relate to them.

I want to be like them. My biggest inspiration is Sargun Mehta and my other inspiration is Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Irfan Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, Kiron Kher, Seema Pahwa, Manoj Pahwa. I also love this Pakistani actress called Nadia Afgan. She is amazing in her show Suno Chanda,” she adds