She started as an anchor, moved into acting in TV shows, made her Bollywood debut with "Dangal" and now features in a web series. Actress Sakshi Tanwar loves how her successful 16-year stint in Indian showbiz now lends her the freedom to choose the pace, nature and medium of work she wants to do.
She says that for an actor, nothing is more satisfying than having this choice.
Sakshi and Ram Kapoor, her co-actor from the hot show "Bade Achche Lagte Hain", have dabbled in both films and TV. They have also reunited for "Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat", a new web series of ALTBalaji app, which gives their fans a chance to again sample their on-screen chemistry.
Talking about moving from one medium to another, Sakshi told IANS during a walk-and-talk here: "An actor reaches a stage where he has the freedom to choose work irrespective of the medium. And that is what we are enjoying right now because we have given so many years to our profession and it's the most satisfying phase where you can choose what you want to do."
For Sakshi, it is mostly a "one thing at a time" policy that works best.
"I could never handle more than one thing at one time. I give whatever I can to one project as I can't run from one set to another or pack in more than I can handle. So, in between the shows, I take long breaks.
"When 'Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii' got over, I was at home for three years and spent my time travelling. After 'Bade Achche...' also, I was like... I like this pace. For me, my work is part of my life, it's not my life," the Lady Shri Ram College alumnus said emphatically.
As of now, the much-loved Parvati bhabhi of "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" -- which took the Indian telly world by storm at the onset of the new millennium -- is enjoying having plunged into the web series space which is unknown to her.
"I'm exploring a new medium and territory. I'm not on social media and I don't know how things happen there, and I am not even a user of apps. I'm very bad with technology. I use my phone as a phone, and sometimes as a camera," said the travel junkie.
What's next on the plate after the series?
"There are offers, but those can wait. If they are meant for me, they will wait for me. If they are not meant for me, no matter how hard I try they are not going to come my way. There is no point stressing about work, I feel. Work is something you should enjoy.
"Especially with the kind of profession we are in... It's not a desk job, we're not writing reports or sitting in front of a machine... We have to interact with a lot of people, and unless you are free and open about doing a new character, it's very difficult to connect. And if the actor doesn't connect, people will never connect to it.
"I always feel that after I do something, I need to throw it out of my system to get another role," said the actress, who was seen as Aamir Khan's wife in "Dangal".
Was "Dangal" a game-changer in her life?
"No... Life is the same. Success, I feel, is such a transient thing anyway. I have been in the industry for over 16 years... I have seen the highs, the lows... You can't hold on to it. Unless you let go of it, you won't be able to grab something else."