An investment banker turned actress has had her own share of hassle to become who she is today. In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, the actress not only takes us through her journey but also speaks of being a part of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah, which has now been the talk of the town, for a while now.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Deepti Sadhwani has undertaken different jobs to stay afloat before becoming a celebrity —she worked in finance as an investment banker. Now she’s rich and famous! We assume investment bankers have a thing for show business. Many of the film industry’s favourites belong to the finance background; likewise, Deepti.
Let’s get to know her a little bit more. “My journey has had a lot of variety and diversity, with some ups and downs. My career started as Miss Lucknow! From there, I participated in the Miss India pageant as well. So, I started doing ramp walks, some cameos in films, and continuing my education background—all simultaneously. With the help of an MBA in finance, I turned into an investment banker too! I started to specialise in marketing abroad, but then one fine day I quit my job and returned to India. Because I had this knack for doing things on my own, I started making my own music albums! From there on, my career took off. I started to be a part of live events, and I started my own marketing agency and music record label too.”
Recalling a few more interesting urban myths with us, she goes on, “When I quit my job, I had no savings of my own. I wasn’t so keen on taking any help from my parents because they knew I was an independent girl. Without any financial backing, I went on to do other ventures. At least I was trying to imagine them! There was a time when I felt like leaving everything and, just going back to my parents in my hometown.”
But she didn’t give up, and instead, “I ran my finance background into the subconscious and started investing in multiple businesses. I was getting offers for films, but I didn’t want to totally rely on them either. I wanted to make use of my educational background anyway! The trend of being an entrepreneur was on the rise, so I hopped on board too. When I opened this music label, I had already decided not to do anything with A-listers. They have enough opportunities! My role was to turn the coin for the betterment of independent singers. There are a lot of sob stories we hear on reality television shows —it was time for me to take action on it, and I am.”
The fact that her parents were extremely supportive and trusted her decision made the transition easier for her. Her father was a banker himself, but to be a heroine apart from an investment banker was seriously like breaking a stereotype for Deepti.
And now comes the controversial turn—a little-known fact that our interviewee was also a part of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah run by the alleged perpetrator Asit Modi—all the dispute that’s going on around sexual harassment allegations against him, to which his former talent quipped, “I had shot with him. The set atmosphere was very similar to your own family. Back then, all of us were well treated. At least that’s what I observed! There wasn’t even a sense of competing with each other for screen space in such a big show. My interaction with Asit Kumar Modi was very cordial. I have no comments on the allegations against him; the law will decide that now, but he never troubled me on the sets of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah. He was instead taking care of me as his artist!”
