Surveen Chawla’s digital sojourn
Surveen Chawla has a busy year ahead of her. Her short film, Chhuri, was released recently and she has another short film with Sujoy Ghosh as well as two web series — with Ekta Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap respectively — coming up. The actor says, “I am enjoying doing digital content. The response for my short film has been phenomenal, and it was a different experience, as I had never done situational comedy before now. Working with Ekta again was fantastic — whatever I have learnt has been while I worked on Kahiin Toh Hoga and Kasautii Zindagi Kay with her.”
The Parched (2015) actor says Anil Kapoor’s show, 24, helped her take up digital content. “24 wasn’t accepted by the masses, as it didn’t appeal to people who watched daily soaps, but it made me realise that different content was exciting and helped me get over my block about digital content,” she says.
Surveen has worked in television shows, films, and now has done web series,but she maintains that her role matters the most. “While picking projects, I don’t think about the medium; I think of the content. I don’t want to do a film if it doesn’t do anything for me or my career. If I am happy with a role and haven’t done it yet, I’ll accept it. I know the kind of roles I fit into. I have got a plateful right now, as I have Ekta’s show, which will cater to the masses online, and then I have the online streaming platform, which
I am enjoying doing digital content. The response for my short film has been phenomenal, and it was a different experience, as I had never done situational comedy before now. SURVEEN CHAWLA, ACTOR
will cater to the niche audience worldwide,” she says.
Surveen hopes Ekta’s show gives her a break from being branded as an actor who loves dark roles. “Actors are put into categories and then offered similar roles. People may think I am comfortable or can pull off a certain kind of role, but that is not the case. I hope these digital shows break the notion. People have seen me doing dark roles, but I get a break from them in Ekta’s show. I didn’t play the kind of roles I played in Punjabi films in my Hindi projects, and the roles I played in TV shows aren’t what I am playing in the digital world. I am game for all kinds of roles.”