Srishty Rode, who recently made her film debut with Gabru Gang, speaks candidly with The Pioneer about her career and recalls rejections.
Subodhini Purohit
Srishty Rode, who made her acting debut in 2010 with Yeh Ishq Haaye and swiftly rose to prominence with roles in hit dramas such as Choti Bahu 2, Punar Vivah-Ek Nayi Umeed, and Ishqbaaaz, has progressed significantly as an actor over time. She claims she has learned to better understand her characters and add depth to her performances.
“One significant thing I’ve learnt is that an actor should be willing to experiment, learn, and explore new areas, as each assignment teaches you a lot. This helps you improve as an actor.”
Recently, as she was seen in Gabru Gang, she shared, “I didn’t have time to prepare for Ginni because I was on Big Boss, and within a week, I signed with Gabru Gang. We flew to Amritsar and started shooting, and I had no idea what to do. My director and producer wanted me to be exactly who I am in real life and how people view me in the Bigg Boss house. They just wanted me to be like ‘Srishty.’”
The sports drama film, Gabru Gang is written and directed by Sameer Khan, which stars Srishty, Abhishek Duhan, Abhilash Kumar, Avtar Gill, and Mukesh Bhatt.
The film focuses on the sport of kite flying, and she emphasises, “Kite flying is more than just a traditional practice in Punjab. Although this film was set in Punjab, kite flying is a popular activity around the world. Many people mistook the film for a Punjabi film due to its heavy Punjabi flavour. However, it was a Hindi film filmed in Punjab. As a Punjabi, it was my first time staying in Punjab for so long, and I found it to be a valuable learning experience. The friendly people left an indelible effect on me.”
She says she has not done anything particularly challenging yet, but she found Shobha Somnath Ki to be rather demanding. It was about a warrior princess who had to learn a variety of new skills, including horseback riding, sword fighting, and speaking in ‘Shudh Hindi’.
According to her, “Talking in the show was itself a big task, and for a very long time, I spoke in a very similar language, which sounded nice, but a lot of hard work went into it as the role demanded a specific kind of walk and way of speaking.”
Another episode, Punar Vivah: Ek Nayi Umeed, was challenging for her since it was so unlike who she is in real life. It was unusual for her to play such an emotional role!
She also had to mentally prepare for Bigg Boss. The most difficult moment for an actor is the audition process. As Srishty recalls, “I’ve encountered a lot of rejection, been frustrated, and considered leaving the industry because things didn’t go my way. But then you have to push yourself. I’ve done it. One must believe in their abilities and be determined. That has helped me remain focused.”
Manjari Chaturvedi cherishes her first lead role in the youth-based sitcom Yeh Ishq Haaye. I had always wanted to be a part of a show on Star One,” she says, adding, “and I was fortunate to be given the opportunity. It was a very youth-oriented show, and my show was one of the last to air before the channel suspended operations.” Manjari, she claims, was quite similar to her real-world persona: exuberant, full of life, and determined. “Working on the show was really delightful, and I miss it a lot. I’d given everything to the character and the play. I recall working for 48 hours straight, remaining on set, feeling poorly, but still working with great excitement because it was my first show. There were no time limits on the shoot. I even ended up in the hospital but continued to do dubbing from there.”
After playing many characters, including a joyful girl, a warrior princess, and a regular bahu, the Pavitra Rishta actor goes on to say, “I find portraying a dark character challenging, but I am confident that I will excel at it.”
She also admits, “One mistake I made was taking a break after every project, which I should not have done. When you finish a project, more proposals come in right away, so it’s better to accept them than to wait for something wonderful to come along and be picky.”
