‘Aise Toh Hona Hi Hai’

‘When
they
took
my
name,
I
went
numb.’
‘Before
I
went
on
stage,
my
dress
got
caught
in
my
shoe!’
‘I
said,
stay
calm.’
‘Then
I
started
walking
and
was
like,
okay,
now
think
of
what
you’re
going
to
say,
quickly!’

Bandish
Bandits
actor

Shreya
Chaudhry
can’t
believe
her
luck.

Not
only
is
she
living
her
dream
but
she’s
also
making
it
count.

She
just
won
the
IIFA
award
for
Best
Actress,
her
first
win,
and
she’s
only
getting
started.

She
tells

Ronjita
Kulkarni/Rediff.com,
“I
feel
like
I
have
worked
every
day
for
moments
like
this.”

Let’s
go
back
to
that
moment
when
you
took
that
long
walk
on
stage
to
collect
your
Best
Actress
award
from
Jaideep
Ahlawat
and
Pratik
Gandhi
at
IIFA.
What
was
going
on
in
your
head?

For
me,
it
was
already
such
a
big
deal
to
be
sitting
in
that
audience,
you
know,
and
attending
IIFA!

It
was
my
first
IIFA
ever,
and
my
first
nomination
as
well.

That
itself
was
a
dream
come
true,
plus
to
be
amongst
all
these
artists
who
I
look
up
to.

Then
when
they
took
my
name,
I
went
numb.
You
won’t
believe
it
but
before
I
went
up
onto
that
stage,
my
dress
got
caught
in
my
shoe!
So
I
was
like,
of
course,

aise
toh
hona
hi
hai

(laughs)!

I
gathered
myself
and
said,
stay
calm.

Then
I
started
walking
and
was
like,
okay,
now
think
of
what
you’re
going
to
say,
quickly!

You
hadn’t
prepared
a
speech?

No!
All
of
us
actors,
at
some
point
in
our
lives,
stand
in
our
bathroom
or
in
front
of
a
mirror
and
act
like
we’re
getting
an
award
and
what
we’re
going
to
say.

I’ve
done
that
many
times
but
at
that
moment,
I
had
not
prepared
anything.

So
during
that
long
walk,
I
was
actually
preparing
my
speech.

It
was
a
big
deal
to
be
on
stage
and
be
handed
an
award
from
Pratik
sir
and
Jaideep
sir
because
I
am
a
big
fan.

And
that
too
a
Best
Actress
award!

I
feel
like
I
have
worked
every
day
for
moments
like
this.

You
have
dedicated
the
award
to
your
mom.
Her
contribution
must
obviously
be
immense
but
can
you
elaborate?

My
mother
has
always
been
that
silent
fire.

When
I
first
told
my
parents
that
I
wanted
to
be
an
actor,
they
were
against
it.

I
remember
having
a
conversation
with
them,
asking
them,
please,
let
me
do
this,
this
is
where
I
belong.

Since
the
day
they
said,
okay,
go
live
your
dream,
it
has
been
my
mother
who
has
been
my
support
system.

I
can
call
her
at
any
point
when
I’m
feeling
a
little
low
or
confused.
She
boosts
my
morale.

You
can’t
compare

ma
ka
pyaar
with
anything.

When
I
got
the
award
—
my
parents
are
not
in
town
because
my
brother
just
had
a
baby
—
when
I
told
her
that,
Ma,
I
won
an
IIFA,
it
was
just
reminiscent
of
all
the
conversations
and
dreams
we
had
woven
together.

In
my
speech,
I
also
dedicated
the
award
to
my
niece
and
nephew
because
they
are
my
lucky
charms.

Your
brother
had
twins?

No.
His
daughter
was
born
during

Bandish
Bandits
Season
1
and
his
son
was
born
during

Bandish
Bandits
Season
2,
so
they
are
definitely
lucky
for
me.

Bandits
Bandits
gave
your
career
a
push
but
your
presence
gave
the
show
a
push
just
as
much.
Don’t
you
think?

That’s
very
kind
of
you
to
say.

But
as
an
actor,
I
feel

Bandish
Bandits
has
given
me
a
lot
more
than
maybe
I
have
given
it.

I
have
tried
my
level
best
to
do
justice
to
the
character.
But
to
be
with
such
a
beautiful
cast,
and
Anand
(Tiwari)
and
Amrit
(Amritpal
Singh
Bindra)
are
responsible
for
wherever
I
am
in
my
career
today.

Ritwik
(Bhowmik)
is
not
just
a
co-star,
he’s
also
a
dear
friend
today.
We
started
our
careers
together
in
a
way,
dreaming
about
things.

Are
you
a
singer
yourself?

No,
I’m
not.
I’m
a
bathroom
singer.

How
much
of
Tamanna
are
you?
Like,
are
you
a
biker?

Actually,
no,
I’m
not
a
biker.
I
learned
how
to
ride
the
bike
for

Bandish
Bandits.

I
don’t
know
how
much
of
Tamanna
I
am
because
sometimes
as
actors,
you
end
up
giving
a
bit
of
your
personality
to
a
character.

But
I
have
learned
a
lot
from
Tamanna
in
season
two.
At
a
time
when
she’s
popular
and
successful,
she
says,
no,
I
will
go
back
(to
music
school)
and
get
things
right.
I
want
to
educate
myself.

But
it’s
not
like
she’s
this
perfect
or
holier-than-thou
person.

She’s
a
real
person.
She
makes
mistakes.
She’s
flawed.

There
was
this
advice
that
Anand
gave
me.
It’s
a
quote
from
Javier
Bardem:
‘You
have
to
be
your
character’s
best
defence
lawyer.
So
no
matter
what
your
character
is
doing,
you
have
to
believe
in
that
100
percent.’

But
I
don’t
know
how
similar
we
are.

You
have
a
glamorous
image
in

Bandish
Bandits,
where
you
play
a
singer.
But
in

The
Mehta
Boys,
you
have
a
less
glam
role
and
play
a
solid
girlfriend.

I
was
shooting

Bandish
Bandits
when
I
was
offered

Mehta
Boys.
It
was
very
exciting
to
play
two
different
characters.
They
are
both
empowered
women
at
their
core
but
very
different
in
their
appearance,
the
way
they
talk
and
in
the
decisions
they
make.

In
an
Instagram
post,
there’s
a
picture
of
an
unrecognisable
Shreya
Chaudhry,
where
you
are
a
plus
size.
How
did
you
go
from
there
to
here?

I
remember
getting
a
message
from
a
girl
after

Bandish
Bandits
Season
2,
and
she
wrote
she
really
connected
with
Tamanna’s
character,
and
it
was
a
very
long
beautiful
message.
But
at
the
end
of
it,
she
wrote
that
she
can
never
be
Tamanna
because
of
the
way
she
looked.

I
never
want
anyone
to
feel
like
that,
so
I
took
the
decision
to
write
about
my
journey.

So
I
wrote
about
the
struggles,
health-wise,
that
I
went
through.

This
was
when
I
was
in
college
and
I
used
to
be
extremely
overweight.

It
was
affecting
my
health
to
a
point
where
a
doctor
said
that
the
only
way
for
me
to
get
better
is
to
lose
weight.
So
it
wasn’t
that
I
wanted
to
be
an
actor
or
look
a
particular
way.
It
was
because
at
that
time,
my
health
was
so
affected
that
the
only
way
out
was
to
lose
weight.

What
was
your
weight
then?

I
was
86
kilos.

So
yeah,
I
was
very
big
and
it
was
unhealthy.

Slowly
and
steadily,
I
realised
that
this
is
a
lifestyle
and
if
you
just
give
it
a
chance,
it
really
embraces
you.
Today,
it’s
a
part
of
who
I
am.

I
am
a
conscious
eater.
I
love
food
but
I
prefer
eating
healthy.

I’m
not
very
strict
with
myself.
It’s
not
like
I
don’t
have
cheat
days.

But
I
strike
a
balance
because
the
feeling
of
being
physically
fit
or
feeling
light
on
your
feet
is
something
that
I
will
never
take
for
granted
because
I
have
seen
the
other
side
of
the
spectrum
as
well.

How
long
did
it
take
you
to
lose
weight?

A
good
two
years,
I
think.

Initially,
my
goal
was
to
lose
10
to
15
kilos
and
that
took
about
a
year-and-a-half
because
I
don’t
believe
in
crash
diets.
Those
things
don’t
work.

You
have
to
be
consistent
with
your
approach
no
matter
what
it
is,
so
that
took
a
bit
of
time.

Then,
I
decided
that
I
wanted
to
be
an
actor,
I
started
a
lot
of
classes
like
kickboxing
classes,
dance
classes,
weight
training…

I
fell
in
love
with
all
of
these
things.

Even
today,
I
love
playing
sports.
I
didn’t
play
sports
too
much
when
I
was
growing
up.

I
love
boxing
and
paddle
ball.
I’m
absolutely
addicted
to
paddle
ball!

You
have
taken
a
picture
with
Hrithik
Roshan.
Did
you
know
him?

No.
I
don’t
remember
very
clearly
but
I
think
his
second
film
had
come
out
and
he
was
doing
some
sort
of
a
promotion
activity.

A
family
friend
knew
somebody
from
his
team
and
we
just
requested
him
for
a
photograph.
So
it
just
happened
by
chance,
it’s
not
that
I
know
him
personally,

I’ve
always
been
a
very
big
fan
of
Hrithik
sir
but
sadly,
have
never
met
him
since
that
day.

What
are
your
fitness
rules?

I
avoid
sugar.

I
avoid
dairy
because
I’m
intolerant
to
that.

I
don’t
eat
anything
with
preservatives
on
a
normal
day.
But
on
cheat
days,
I’ll
have
whatever
I
want.

I
just
feel
you
must
do
portion
control,
then
you
can
maintain
a
balance.

Gigi
Hadid
said
something
really
beautiful.
She
said,
eat
the
salad
to
stay
fit
and
eat
the
burger
to
stay
sane.

So
that
justifies
my
approach
as
well.

And
like
I
said,
I’m
a
huge
outdoor
person
and
I
love
adventure
sports.

I
love
weight
training.

I
love
going
to
my
dance
class.

I
love
going
on
walks.

I
play
with
my
dog.

You
have
to
put
in
a
lot
of
hard
work
in
this
profession.

For
instance,
you
may
have
to
run
in
a
scene,
and
there
will
be
30
takes
of
that,
from
all
angles,
dialogues
etc,
You
have
to
be
fit
in
order
to
do
that.
If
you’re
unfit,
you
can’t
do
a
scene
like
that
so
many
times.

What’s
the
first
thing
you
do
when
you
wake
up?

It’s
something
my
mother
recently
introduced
in
my
life.

I
drink

haldi
pani.

It’s
her
recipe,
and
it
has

haldi,
honey,
pepper
and
cinnamon.

Even
when
I’m
traveling
for
work,
I
carry
these
ingredients
with
me.
So
no
matter
where
I
am,
I
start
my
day
with

haldi
pani.

Do
you
have
a
ritual
at
the
end
of
your
day?

Not
really.
But
I
try
to
eat
whatever
I’m
eating
at
least
an
hour-and-a-half
before
I
go
to
bed.