Back home in Lucknow, Shruti Sharma was dreaming of becoming an actress but had not found the right outlet yet. She finally got a platform to showcase her skills and talent when she participated on a talent hunt show on television. Last year, she made her film debut with the Telugu film ‘Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya’ and TV debut with ‘Gathbandhan’. In this interview, she talks about her short but eventful journey in show business, future plans and more.
Working on a TV show can be quite hectic. ‘Gathbandhan’ was your very first TV show. How was the experience of working on it?
Yes, working on a TV show is hectic as you have to shoot for extremely long hours every day. It has been a roller coaster ride filled with happiness and a lot of important lessons. ‘Gathbandhan’ is my first TV show and I could not have asked for a better debut for myself on television.
You had participated in the talent hunt reality show India’s Next Superstar. Did being on the show help you further your career in any way?
Being on the show helped me a lot as the casting team of ‘Gathbandhan’ called me after seeing one of my performances on the show. Participating in the show was a great learning experience as well. It was the first time people saw me on national television and that exposure worked well for me.
You made your film debut with the Telugu film ‘Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya’. Reportedly, the director of the film saw you playing Charlie Chaplin in one of your performances in the reality show and decided to cast you in the film.
Yes, that is true. The director watched my Charlie Chaplin and another comedy act on the show and approached me for the film. Saying dialogues in Telugu was quite difficult. I took lessons in Telugu and did workshops there. I am happy about the fact that the film was received so well by the audience. It was my first step in films and the response was very encouraging.
Would you like to do a Telugu film again?
Yes, why not? I would love to work in films across different languages. Language should never be a barrier for an actor.
You are from Lucknow. You have said in a couple of interviews that you were always interested in carving out a career as an actor. Was it difficult to convince your parents about the same?
Lucknow is not as big a city as a Mumbai or a Delhi but still, it is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh and there is a fair amount of exposure for people who are interested in creative arts. Yes, people are still a little conservative about things. It was difficult for me to convince my father. People have certain notions about the industry and my dad was worried whether I would be able take care of myself here in Mumbai. Thankfully, eventually my parents believed in me. I wrote, directed and acted in a play in Lucknow and that is how I proved to my father that I was genuinely interested in being in this profession.
You are a trained Bharatnatyam dancer. Do you plan to take your interest in dance further in any way?
I am not a very well-trained have learnt Bharatnatyam for two years. I would like to train in it further. I hope to open an acting and dance academy someday. There are so many people in this country who want to get into dance or acting but do not have the right platform. I would like to do something in this regard.
What are you doing next?
I have signed a couple of projects. I am shooting for one of them at the moment. I am not at the liberty to speak about it at the moment.