‘I GAVE UP ACTING AT ONE POINT’

Clocking a decade in showbiz, Mrunal Thakur looks back at the time she felt acting was not working out for her

Among the many challenges showbiz poses, Mrunal Thakur has struggled against losing hope, too. The actor reveals that it was after she gained fame on television and wanted to get into films. “I had confidence in myself, but there was a time when I felt it’s not working out,” Thakur shares.

“Many don’t know that I have been facing the camera for 10 years now. I started acting in 2012. I gave up at one point, after four-and-ahalf years... The fun part is that I gave up, travelled to

Indonesia for six months and lived there,” says the Jersey actor, who started off with TV shows like Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan and Kumkum Bhagya. Thakur was also seen in the 2016 Indonesian show Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn.

“I was thinking of how to wipe off that image of a television actor. It had

MRUNAL THAKUR,

become a stereotype. Logon ke dimaag mein ban jaata hai, along with a lot of walls — she can’t do this because she did that, she shouldn’t do this because she is doing that. There are all of these permutations and combinations of assumptions that people have. It’s really disheartening sometimes,” elaborates the actor, whose initial plan was to become a journalist. “I was pursuing Bachelor of Mass Media. But my first and only love was the camera,” she tells us.

It was the 2018 film Love Sonia which turned her career around, as the 29year-old admits, “I needed to be seen in a character where it’s not someone wearing kilos of makeup to look pretty. It is one of the biggest challenges for an actor — yes, she is pretty, but can she act? It was amazing to work with an international crew and Demi Moore (actor, in Love Sonia). I felt, that was the moment. It was my ticket to Bollywood,” Thakur concludes.

As the OTT boom continues to alter the entertainment landscape in the country, actor Sudhanshu Pandey feels the medium has given huge opportunities to many actors. But, he also believes that whether or not these actors will go on to earn the status of stars in the industry is something only time will tell.

“OTT is huge, no doubt. Having said that, even though this new medium is giving visibility to many actors, who are now getting their due, it is hard to say whether OTT actors are becoming stars or not. It has happened in the past with television. Gradually, the telly medium grew so much that today, TV stars are as big as film stars. But OTT is also a growing platform and sooner or later, actors who are doing well on it may also become huge stars,” says the actor, who is currently riding high on the success of his ongoing TV show.

The 47-year-old goes on to note how the lack of censorship on the digital medium gives creators the liberty to be creative and explore bold or taboo topics. “People are openly talking about many subjects that they wouldn’t otherwise, back in the day. Many people are now openly sharing their inhibitions, thanks to the entertainment industry,” adds the actor, who was also seen in films such as Singham (2011) and 2.0 (2018).

Ask him if he would be comfortable doing intimate scenes onscreen and he replies, “I might consider doing bold scenes in a web project if the story demands, but not just for the heck of it.”

Adding his two bits to the debate on whether this freedom on the web may influence viewers negatively, Pandey shares, “The growth of all these mediums has increased exposure, and people have access to almost everything today. It is only natural that people will pick up [what they see on screen] and get influenced by what is shown on OTT. So it’s a double-edged sword. You win some, you lose some.”

SUDHANSHU PANDEY,

In the past, the telly medium grew so much that today, TV stars are as big as film stars.

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/SUDANSHU_PANDEY