Sometimes it’s not just about being in the spotlight, having a crazy fan following or running around in lavish dresses with six inch stilettos, or to give the perfect red carpet smile and quotes. It is about being able to live your dream for the pure love and passion of it! Being a natural and skilled actress, Shruti Bapna seems to have touched the chords of many hearts with her unconventional style and raw take on the characters she is playing. She has entertained the audience through several soaps and cameos and is currently seen as the ambitious and strong-willed working woman Vandita, on Star Plus’ Ye hai Mohabbatein. “I am quite a variety. I am unpredictable, confident, grounded and stable. I am not too serious and believe in taking life as it comes. I don’t jump into things and work towards striking a balance. I am a woman of principles and I want to grow in life”, states the down-to-earth actress. Going down the memory lane to her initial days in the field of acting, she recounts, “I started my career in acting with theatre and voiceovers. I lent my voice to different shows and animated characters. I did a couple of acclaimed English and Hindi plays with renowned artists and professionals. Gradually theatre got a little monotonous. So I ventured into TV and did character roles and cameos in shows like Jasuben Jayantilal Joshi ki Joint Family, Bure Bhi hum Bhale bhi hum, Saas Bina Sasural, Mahi way, etc. I took a break in between for around a year and a half to tone down a little till I got into Ye Hai Mohabbatein. I also did a few cameos like Wake Up Sid, The Lunchbox and Ekk Deewana Tha. So I have been constantly trying something new every time.” Love, relationships and marriage are always vividly portrayed on-screen. How does she define them? “I love being in love. It is a great feeling. It could be the love of a friend, a parent, a companion or just being in love with yourself! I always need some “me-time” and like to spend some time alone in retrospection. Marriage is difficult but for that sake no relationship is easy. Especially in a field like acting, there has to be trust and bond. Two people need to gel well and be on the same page. Many a times, we fail at this. We take people for granted. So the key to a successful relationship is to keep working on it to make it stronger”, shares the gregarious lady. She is portraying a lady who is strong and career oriented. And the feather in the hat is that her husband supports her and in fact doesn’t really mind working under her. What is her take on gender bias and women being told what to do? “I think it is unfair to rather place it as a sexual bias. Women are independent and need to be treated as individuals. And here when we talk about gender equality we need to keep in mind the fact that no gender is superior and at a certain point in time a male subordinate can definitely learn a lot from a fairer-sex superior and vice versa. There shouldn’t be a scope for ego-clashes there.” We sure have a feminist there! Go-girl! Is her real-life husband as supportive and understanding as her on-screen one? Well let’s take a look. “He is everything that I am not. And that is the beauty of our relationship. He is extremely patient, supportive and understanding. He brings this balance into my life in terms of thinking, understanding and viewing things from a different perspective”, says Shruti. An actor always looks forward to doing something new. Since she is quite a variety, we ask her to describe her dream role. The pretty actress shares, “I am a big fan of Bhansali films. He has a genius mind and makes larger than life films. For me doing a lead has never been a priority. I just have the ambition to act and bring out the best in me on-screen. It is all about feeling that sense of satisfaction. Fame is secondary. Other things will follow. I would want to experiment with different roles and play characters which have shades.” After cameos in The Lunchbox, Wake Up Sid and Ekk Deewana Tha, what’s next? “I have shot character roles for the films Gabbar and Amrika. It is a small yet significant role. Amrika is a festival film whereas Gabbar is a mainstream commercial film. I will be seen with Sunil Grover on-screen.” The beautiful lady shares her insight on the key to success. She excerpts, “Keep working hard. It’s a tough world out there. Some will rise to fame in the initial phase of their careers. Some might take time. But don’t lose heart, keep faith and keep working on yourself. I think sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t. It’s all about figuring out what works for you. What works for you might not work for someone else and vice versa. Think, learn and find your own journey. For me, the more I grow, the more I want to be a better actor.” Well said Shruti! Now moving on to what’s coming up next in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, she shares, “Bala and Vandita are extremely stressed after the entire paper leaking fiasco by Romi. And now their Amma going through a major accident, there is a lot of drama, twists and turns. Tune in to Star Plus’ Yeh Hai Mohabbatein to find out more.”