Always feel grateful to almighty for what I am today, says Chhavvi

Television actor Chhavvi Pandey, who has entertained masses in shows like Ek Boond Ishq and Kaal Bhairav Rahasya, says her hard work has paid a lot but destiny has also played its role in shaping her life and for this she always feels grateful to the almighty.

The actor, who hails from Patna, says, “I am a spiritual person and believe in God. The big change that I have seen in me in all these years is, now I feel a lot of gratitude towards the Universe and the force that’s driving us. This has happened probably due to my life experiences. My hometown in Bihar is considered as a village in metros, yet I have completed nine years in Mumbai with my head high! I have certainly done a lot of hard work, but it is God’s grace that I succeeded in the way I wanted.”

Pandey adds, “Initially, it was very tough to make a place in the city of dreams. Slowly, I understood things, learnt a lot, groomed myself and grew. To adapt, I brought in a lot of changes in my thinking in a positive manner and, not just me, today my parents too think very differently about me. I come from a conservative family where people don’t think of sending girls outside for studies, just forget acting! But they had faith in me and now they feel proud.”

The actress is happy that she kept working during this tough phase.

“I feel fortunate and blessed that I am getting work even during the pandemic. Still there are so many problems around us and people are without work! Earlier, I was doing Prem Bandhan and after a gap of around one month Shubh Laabh… started. Shooting-wise also it’s much better than it was few months before, probably due to vaccination and standard shooting procedures adopted in the

industry.”

PActor

IThe actor is playing goddess for the second time. “Yes, earlier I played Goddess Parvati in Namah and this time I am playing Goddess Lakshmi, but she is in a human form to the rescue of her bhakt. Interestingly, there are no miracles, I am just guiding that everyone has capability and one just needs to believe in oneself and make it happen.”

She finds balancing between the goddess and a human challenging. “We have not seen god, so when I perform it’s as per our visualization, belief and storyline. As actors we have many ‘do’s and lot of don’ts’. It’s very interesting as well as challenging to play a normal human who actually is a goddess as we need to balance between the modesty, dignity and grace,” she adds. t’s been 21 years since Harshvardhan Nawathe won the first-ever season of TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). And the Mumbai resident, who shot to fame overnight at the age of 27, gradually faded away from the spotlight. But life has been good shares Nawathe, and adds, “After the win, I got recognition and financial security. Meeting people and being recognised at various platforms has been wonderful.”

Nawathe, who won ₹1 crore in 2000, recalls the eventful day. “I had answered the questions in 20 odd minutes. I entered the set at noon and by 12.30pm I had won. There was not much time to react (laughs). For me, it was just a quiz show and I never allowed the monetary aspect to come between the questions. I wasn’t prepared for the win or what would follow thereafter. What the KBC win gave me was a net to build my life. I also became financially independent at a young age,” says the 48-year-old.

For Nawathe, who was a civil services aspirant back then, life took a new turn. He continues, “During the initial months, I lived the life of a rock star. People would be waiting for autographs in my building complex. I wanted to get into the civil services but after the win, I had contractual obligations to fulfil and even partied hard and one year was lost. I did everything including modelling, television advertisements, walked the

THEN NOW

ramp, was offered

TV shows, films and even received some offers to join politics.”

Even though the high was short-lived, Nawathe knew which direction to steer his life in next. “After all that came a lull and everything stopped. But I was mentally prepared. I went to the UK, did an MBA and returned to start my corporate life. That was just one day, albeit great, for me and not my entire life,” he shares.

Through civil services, he wanted to help people and being in the corporate world, he is doing the same. “I’m leading corporate social responsibilities for various organisations. I remain connected to my dream of working for and with people,” he says, adding, “It fills me with pride when people say they saw me on TV and look up to me.”

PKBC 2000

Winner of