'I think I do come across as a strong personality'

Fiery piercing gaze, a black cloth around her tilak smeared forehead, her eyes gleamed with power.

That was the image of Amba, the dacoit from Na Aana Is Des Mei Laado who at times took away the spotlight from Ammaji, the long running lead of the erstwhile show on Colors.  Hailing from Haryana, perhaps it was her natural flair that brought her in the limelight.

Metrolife speaks to Shikha Singh Chaudhary who is dazzling on Indian television with some interesting roles under her belt. 

Husky voiced and dimple cheeked, this beauty tells Metrolife, “I was studying Economics in Chandigarh while doing theatre on the side. Now, my family asks me in jest about what happened to my London School of Economics dreams?” 

Being the rebellious one amongst her siblings, she treaded a path that nobody in her academics-oriented family ever thought of, she says, adding, “It has been seven long years since I stayed in Mumbai on my own. Blessed with a typical north Indian mindset, my family still tells me ‘kya zaroorat hai iss sab ki’, because we are economically well off.

 But I have always believed jab tak try ni karoge how will you know you like doing something or not?”  Going by the clichéd picture of the industry, she says, “I don’t blame my family, even I would have been scared if my child opted to go for acting. But with time, I have overcome these fears. Had I known people or had connections in the industry, I wouldn’t have gone through those 52 hours-a-stretch-schedule, with nobody to guide me or tell me not to worry. And then, I wouldn’t even have become so accommodating when it comes to work.”

All this, “while I have been on my own guard because I know I am the one who has to make things happen.” 

Tackling a myriad roles, be it an army cadet in Left Right Left or an advocate in Adaalat, she has come a long way.

Shikha exclaims, “I am doing the role of mythological character, a business women with a negative shade and a public prosecutor, all at once. I think I do come across as a strong personality so nobody offers me a sobbing bahu’s role. And I think they are right,” adding, “they find me intimidating without me saying any of that.” 

This feisty young actor relates to Amba in her personal life and says, “I think as an actor I have a moral responsibility as well. While I don’t mind being a gaon ki chhori once in a while, I want the character to stand up for itself and not lay entrenched in age-old customs. Just the wayAmba was.”

Hopping from the sets of one production house in Mumbai to another in Gujarat for her show Mahabharat, Shikha has had grueling schedules in the recent past.

But now she seems to be enjoying her life on a vacation mode, while looking for roles in Bollywood.