In 2009, Charlie Chauhan shot to fame after appearing in a much popular adventure reality show on television. After that, her performances in a bunch of popular youth-based fiction shows like ‘Best Friends Forever?’ and ‘Kaisi Yeh Yaarian’made her a household name. In this interview, she talks about her short film ‘The Usual Twist’, that is streaming on the newly launched OTT platform BiiggBang Amusement, journey as an actor so far and more.
‘The Usual Twist’ is touted to be a love story. What can you share about it?
It’s not exactly a love story. It’s about two strangers who get attracted to each other and then, something happens which turns around their life. The story is simple and engaging. We had great fun while shooting for it. We shot for it before the lockdown.
In the last couple of years, thew market for short films has grown exponentially. What do you think about this format?
I have seen a lot of short films in the recent past and loved many of them. I think the market for short films will continue to grow in the future. So many young filmmakers have got the opportunity to showcase their talent by making short films. Very few people get an opportunity to make a feature length film early in their careers. So, making short films is a good way to start out.
You participated in the reality show ‘MTV Roadies 7’ in 2008. After that, you started your acting career with shows like ‘Gumrah: End of Innocence’, ‘Best Friends Forever?’ and ‘Kaisi Yeh Yaarian’, among others. In the last 2-3 years, we did not get to see much of you on the screen. Why?
After ‘Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan’, I decided not to do television anymore. I actually never wanted to do television but getting an opportunity in films is not very easy. So, when I got offered these shows, I thought, “okay, at least I am not doing a saas-bahu show”, so I did them. Back then, we had just two channels which made content for the youth. Now, a lot of good content is being made on the web. I always wanted to do films. Now, I am open to the idea of doing web-shows too.
How do you look back at your journey?
I have learnt a lot. There have been many ups and downs. There was a lot of struggle initially. Being actors, we also have to spend a lot of money on what we are wearing, make-up etc. Mumbai taught me a lot of things. The journey has been beautiful.