FAMILY BEFORE ARCHANA PURAN SINGH
The senior actor admits that she is happy with the way her career has panned out even though she always prioritised her family over work
Archana Puran Singh has had an acting career spanning over 35 years, during which she has acted in films and TV. From portraying comic roles in films and TV shows to judging comedy shows such as Comedy Circus (CC), she has done almost everything in the genre of comedy. She is currently hosting a reality show. About her look in the show, she says, “I am loving my look of a plump confident aunty. I am comfortable with the role. The fat suit I wear takes off the pressure to look a certain way on screen.”
Archana admits she doesn’t diet, and instead she exercises regularly. “I am vegetarian and it is a healthy choice. Yoga has kept me fit for 25 years now, and I discovered pranayama and Ayurveda ten years ago. These natural lifestyle choices have helped me.” She is glad to have yoga to fall back on as she does indulge in unhealthy eating habits such as eating sweets, chocolates, bread and pastries. Archana adds, “I am happy with my weight, though I am 15 kilos heavier than I was in my ’20s or ’30s. I think with age, a little bit of weight sits better on you and nature meant it to be that way too. Unfortunately, the fashion industry insists that unless you are in a certain weight bracket you are not fit. Weight has nothing to do with health, unless you are obese.”
After three decades, Archana is happy with the way her career has panned out. “My priorities in life are set. My family comes first, then comes love, next in line is health and then comes my
We don’t need to treat our work as the most important thing in the world. Be kind, love each other, care for your family — that is more important. ARCHANA PURAN SINGH, ACTOR
career. God has blessed me with a happy soul and nature. I kept taking breaks between projects.” After her sons were born, she rejected projects that required her to put in long hours or shoot abroad. After doing CC for seven years, she took a two-year gap to help her son with his studies.
“CC came at the right time and it was fun too. It was a luxury as we shot for six days a month. I look at work as a profession not as a passion that consumes me. I have professional ethics but it is not more important than real life. You are entertaining people but not changing their lives in any way. We don’t need to treat our work as the most important thing in the world. Be kind, love each other, care for your family — that is more important. It was important for me to do less work in the last ten years as my family needed me. I was able to do that as I always said that my career wasn’t so important to me. Despite that, I have had a good run in the last 35 years in an industry that is so competitive,” she says.