‘When I Go To A Hotel, I Check Under The Bed’

‘A
Lufthansa
crew
member
reached
a
hotel
in
the
middle
of
night
and
slept.’
‘The
next
morning,
something
fell
and
she
bent
to
pick
it
up.’
‘She
saw
a
dead
body
under
the
bed!’

After
working
as
a
flight
attendant,

Priyanka
Setia
moved
to
modelling,
theatre,
and
finally,
OTT
series.

In
the
last
10
years,
she
has
done
films
and
shows
like

Hawaizaada,
Begum
Jaan,
Sacred
Games,
Aranyak,
Rudra:
The
Edge
of
Darkness,
Sirf
Ek
Bandaa
Kaafi
Hai
and

Khauf,
the
horror
series,

“There
was
a
lot
of
emotional
turmoil,
fear,
guilt
and
unpredictability,”
Priyanka
tells

Patcy
N/Rediff
about
her

Khauf
role.

What
made
you
say
yes
to
a
horror
series
like

Khauf?

The
script.

It
was
offered
to
me,
and
I
auditioned
for
the
part.

When
I
read
the
script,
it
was
so
beautiful
that
I
instantly
thought
what
amazing
writing.

Do
you
like
watching
horror?

Love
it!
I
am
a
horror
buff.

Did
you
have
any
eerie
experiences
on
set
while
shooting
for

Khauf?

No.
But
I
had
anxiety.

I
am
usually
an
anxious
person
but
during
this
shoot,
it
was
more.

I
thought
it
could
be
because
of
the
heat
or
the
nonstop
shoot
or
that
I
wasn’t
resting
or
eating
enough.

But
later,
when
I
reflected
on
it,
I
realised
the
show
was
tough.

In
it,
a
crime
happens,
and
four
girls
are
a
part
of
it.

These
girls
are
not
allowed
to
leave
the
haunted
hostel.

They
can’t
tell
the
warden
that
something
is
wrong
because
nobody
else
can
see
or
feel
it,
so
they
don’t
believe
it.

My
character
Reema
is
not
allowed
to
see
her
daughter;
my
husband
has
stopped
talking
to
me.

So
there
was
a
lot
of
emotional
turmoil,
fear,
guilt
and
unpredictability.

I
am
pregnant
in
the
series,
so
I
am
also
scared
about
that.
What
will
happen
to
the
baby
I’m
carrying?

Thinking
about
these
things
affected
my
mind.

Have
you
experienced
any
eerie
moments
in
your
life?

No,
but
some
instances
have
stayed
with
me.

I
used
to
be
a
flight
attendant
for
Lufthansa.

Once,
I
was
staying
at
a
hotel
in
Kolkata,
and
was
on
the
phone,
talking
to
my
boyfriend.
It
was
night,
and
I
was
in
a
corridor.

At
the
end
of
the
corridor,
there
was
this
one
room,
whose
doors
were
barricaded
with
wooden
planks.

I
found
that
very
strange
because
usually
hotel
properties
in
India
are
gorgeous.

Later,
I
got
to
know
that
the
room
was
haunted,
that’s
why
it
was
barricaded.

Then,
there
was
a
story
from
a
Lufthansa
crew
member,
where
that
person
reached
a
hotel
in
the
middle
of
night
and
slept.

The
next
morning,
something
fell
and
she
bent
to
pick
it
up.

She
saw
a
dead
body
under
the
bed!

After
that,
whenever
I
go
to
a
hotel,
I
check
under
the
bed.

You
work
alongside
brilliant
actors
like
Rajat
Kapoor
and
Geeta
Kulkarni
in

Khauf.

I
decided
to
up
my
game
to
match
them.

I
saw
them
working
and
realised
they
are
such
nice,
humble
people.
No
tantrums.

I
know
Geetudidi
from
my
theatre
days.
I
have
seen
how
meticulous
and
hardworking
she
is.

I
had
a
scene
with
her
where
she’s
drunk.

Before
the
scene
started,
since
evening,
she
started
talking
to
everybody
on
set
like
she
was
drunk.

Everybody
was
wondering
if
she
was
really
drunk
or
just
preparing
for
the
role.

Rajat
sir
is
so
humble.
He
always
knew
his
lines.

Shilpa
Shukla
was
also
very
controlled
on
set.
Even
if
there
was
too
much
heat
or

pareshani
on
set,
she
had
no

nakras.

Tell
us
your
experience
on
the
sets.

It
was
beautiful.

In
the
series,
Chum’s
(Darang)
character
and
my
character
don’t
get
along
and
we
keep
fighting.

But
Chum
and
me
were
like
best
friends
on
set.
We
used
to
come
together,
leave
together,
eat
together.

Even
if
my
scene
was
getting
late,
she
would
wait
for
me.
Our
vanity
vans
were
together.

Tell
us
about
yourself.

I
am
from
Bareilly,
Uttar
Pradesh.
I
pursued
my
BSc
in
agriculture
in
Nainital.

Then
I
came
to
Delhi
and
flew
for
Lufthansa
for
six
years.

I
was
modeling
simultaneously.

Someone
in
my
modeling
agency
asked
me
to
shift
to
Bombay.

I
met
Anurag
Kashyap
on
a
flight;
he
was
coming
back
from
the
screening
of

That
Girl
In
Yellow
Boots
in
Venice.

He
suggested
that
I
try
theatre
and
gave
me
Makarand
(Deshpande)
sir’s
number.

I
shifted
to
Bombay,
lied
to
my
family
that
Lufthansa
had
sent
me
there.

Otherwise,
my
family
of
doctors
would
never
have
allowed
me.

Makarand
sir
was
generous
enough
to
let
me
continue
to
fly
and
rehearse
on
holidays.

In
Lufthansa,
you
can
plan
your
roster,
so
I
started
taking
short
flights.

When
I
started
getting
more
roles
in
theatre,
I
decided
to
quit
my
job
and
continue
acting.

How
did
your
parents
react
when
you
finally
told
them?

They
were
very,
very,
angry.

Bhai,
ek
toh
they
were
angry
that
I
wanted
to
be
a
flight
attendant.

My
father
is
a
doctor.
My
brother
is
a
neurosurgeon.
My

dadu
was
a
doctor
in
Punjab.
My

chachu
was
also
a
doctor.

I
was
a
rebel
kid.

They
were
actually
very
scared
and
rightly
so,
because
it
is
a
struggle.
I
realised
it
afterwards.

Since
you
were
working,
there
must
have
been
no
financial
struggle.

I
knew
I
couldn’t
ask
for
money
from
my
family.

So
from
renting
an
apartment
for
Rs
35,000,
I
moved
into
Rs
10,000
per
month
PG
(paying
guest)
accommodation.
I
stayed
with
five
other
girls.

There
is
no
certainty
in
this
profession.

You
joined
Pankaj
Kapur’s
theatre
group.

My
first
acting
workshop
was
with
Pankaj
Kapur.
He
is
wonderful,
and
I
learnt
a
lot
from
him.

He
taught
to
how
to
use
my
body
while
acting.

How
did
you
get
into
films?

I
gave
an
audition
for

Hawaizaada
and
got
it.

I
gave
a
lot
of
auditions
but
there
were
a
lot
of
rejections.

It’s
still
a
struggle;
it’s
not
that
I
am
getting
many
opportunities.
But
I
am
doing
well.

I
started
directing
ads
and
even
a
short
film.

Then
COVID
happened.

There
was
no
work
for
two-and-a-half
years.

Then,
I
got
a
chance
to
write
the

Khalbali
Records
series.

Are
your
parents
happy
now?

I
don’t
think
so.
My
mother
has
always
been
happy
but
my
father
has
been
very
ambitious.

Maybe
he
is
happy
but
I’ve
never
had
that
one-to-one
chat
with
him.