MUMBAI: Tanya Sharma plays Reema Narayan in Sasural Simar Ka 2. The actress is shooting in Agra for the show.

The diva talks about her decade-long journey, viral meme ‘Rasode me kaun tha’, and more. Read on.

You have many hit shows in your kitty, do you feel blessed to be a part of these shows which became popular, or you chose the roles very wisely?
Honestly, every role… especially Meera’s role in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, I don’t know how I got it. Even Reema’s role in SSK2, I don’t know how I bagged it. All shows are with Rashmi (Sharma) ma’am. I never thought I will get these roles. I have been a child artiste. I have given so many auditions. Every time one role ends, the struggle begins to bag the next one. But I feel blessed to have these roles in my kitty, which I have done in the past. Sometimes, when you give too many auditions and keep getting rejected, you feel disheartened and then I didn’t give my best for Saathiya – my first big break. I even told the casting director, ‘Why do you call me for auditions, I won’t get selected.’ But then to my surprise, I got selected for Saathiya. Even Sasural happened like this. I wasn’t sure, which show is it. I just know it’s with Rashmi Ma’am. And that time, I felt I should go for it. And next day I got selected.

You have completed over a decade in the industry at a young age, how would you look back?
I feel truly blessed. I have seen many people, who struggle for years and not get a role and some get a role and then don’t get work. In my case, I may not have been very passionate about acting, but dancing initially. I won’t talk about my roles in childhood but the first effective role was in Afsar Bitiya. I was playing Chanchal and it was an important role. That time, all my co-actors would call me ‘Fumble Queen’. It was my first important show and I couldn’t say my dialogues properly. The language was Bihari and I wasn’t so fluent. I learnt there that if you have learned or improved even a little bit, you have achieved something as an actor. I believe in never stop learning.

Talking about digital age, have you consciously stayed away from web shows when most of the actors and youngsters are experimenting?
I am losing out on a lot of projects because of the requirement of intimate and bold scenes. I understand that when the makers write a story they have a mindset and a concept. Whenever I am approached for a role, I get pressurized when they give examples of other actors. But I have set a boundary for myself, and maybe I am not ready to cross that boundary yet. I am not comfortable doing any intimate scenes right now. So, I do not take up that kind of roles. That’s why I am doing Indian television, because it gives me the freedom to connect with millions of people and at the same time not crossing my limitations, which I have set for myself.

On memes and trolls on social media

I haven’t been trolled as such but I have seen so many memes on Saath Nibhaana Saathiya… one where I am dancing and then while dancing I slap Vandana ji. That was very funny. Most of the scenes are from Saathiya are meme-worthy and they are quite funny. But when there is serious trolling, yes, it affects me. But then, I realised I get affected when I read them, so I stopped reading them. I am being very genuine.

Credits: TOI