John Shirley once said that ‘weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them’. It’s hard to disagree as this is exactly how my weekends feel like!
However, being a television actor doesn’t give you the luxury of having the weekend off. You would probably get a day or two in a month to unwind, or an unannounced off during the week. Having said that, whenever I am bestowed with that luxury, I make sure to enjoy it.
Most of my weekends are spent with my boyfriend Sanam Johar. It’s just recently that our schedules match. We never had the time together before the ‘Nach Baliye’ season. We do everything from hanging out with friends, binge eating to going out of town.
We love going to hill stations and take a break from the chaos in Mumbai. Sometimes our friends also join us for the short trips. If we get time, we also plan a trip outside the country. Our last trip was to Bangkok. Adventure sports is something we both enjoy, so if the place we go to has an interesting activity, we do take part in it. Weekend getaways to Goa, Mahabaleshwar and other nearby places are quite common.
When in Mumbai, we catch up on movies that we’ve missed. If they are not in theatres anymore, we watch whatever is shown on television as well. Sanam and I are big foodies — we are always on the lookout to try new things. But my favourite is Continental dishes. When I am not keeping a count of calories, pizza is my comfort food (laughs). I also have a sweet tooth, so Nutella pancakes always put a smile on my face.
Sadly, though, I cannot cook to save myself. The maximum amount of cooking I can do is make tea, coffee and Maggi. But Sanam is a brilliant cook and he is always pampering me with some delicious recipes. He makes really good omelettes, mutton curry and ‘ghee’ rice. I’m not much of a party person; I prefer house parties.
Weekends are usually the time my friends and I get time to meet. We either hang out at home or go out to a quiet cafe. If we’re at home, we order in food, play cards, catch up on each other’s lives and have a relaxing time. My friends and I also regularly meet when we go to the gym.
Sanam has adopted a lovely dog, Bumpy Singh, who is also a big part of
my life. He is an absolute sweetheart. He gives the warmest welcome greeting when we come back from home. Even with the jam-packed activities to do during the day off, I always find some time for myself. I usually read books, watching the television show ‘Friends’ or watch dance videos on YouTube.
If time allows, we also head out to meet our families and spend some time with them. But if they are free, they come over and pamper us. That’s probably the best part of the weekend.
As Sanam and I are contestants of this year’s ‘Nach Baliye’, we have to keep at it with workout and practice sessions. Yes, we can take a days’ break and relax but we will be missing out. So it’s hard to find a perfect weekend these days but since I love acting and dancing, work doesn’t seem like work anymore.”
(As told to Anila Kurian)
