‘Wish there were 60 days in a month’

Gitanjali Sharma chats up Karishma Randeva, the dusky lissome beauty from Panchkula, who has found her space on the small screen

SHE featured three years ago in these columns when the movie Ants, in which she played the female lead, fetched the Best Producer and Best Foreign Film awards at the Yellowstone Film Festival in the US. Then she was raring to go to Mumbai, to try her luck in the tinsel world. Today, three summers later, after making a mark in a couple of Balaji productions, this graduate in biophysics is delighted with her lead role in Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag, a popular soap with four-foot-nothings. Some of her dreams have been realised, some of her targets have been met, but there’s lot more to be done, says this sprightly workaholic, who’s barely touched her twenties. Fanatical about discipline, she revels in setting fresh goals, gives herself max five years in the glamour world and wishes there were 60 days in a month. Let’s find out what else does this go-getter, who was recently in her hometown for a brief vacation, have to say:

The work culture in the metro came as a pleasant change. Everybody from the make-up man to the light men, camera persons to the director operate by the dot. If shooting has to begin at 9 am then that is when the cameras begin to roll. In contrast, when I worked here (Chandigarh) in a couple of Punjabi albums, if work had to start at nine then you would reach the sets to find that the lights were still on their way. And, of course, they also assumed that a local girl deserved local money.

Even as a student, I was constantly short of time. Besides concentrating on studies, I made a go for debates, declamation contests and anchoring shows. And, while doing my graduation in biophysics from Panjab University, I got into modelling, compering, music videos, etc. Being a workaholic, the long working hours in Mumbai came as no bother. I was putting in 18 to 20 hours for Ekta’s productions Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kkusum. Now, too, I’m putting in about 13 to 14 hours as Dollie. The limited time, however, requires you to be extremely disciplined. You have to stay focused, avoid lingering on the sets and squeeze out time — for sleep, eating the right food, sweating out at the gym, putting stuff on the hair, face..

I moved away from Balaji when Sonu’s role in Kahani... ceased to be stimulating and Sakshi’s character in Kkusum required a jump of 20 years. One, I felt I was too young to appear in a mother’s role and, second, you get typecast into a slot and cease to get younger roles. I would like to do anything that is exciting and challenging. But, no saas-bahu roles, please, for another year or so. I am game for nice, clean movies though. Shortly, I’ll will be seen on a weekly soap with Aruna Irani.

My father, a retired Colonel, is pretty conservative. Getting him to agree to my modelling and acting assignments and moving to Mumbai has in itself been quite a task. On my own too, I would want to work in movies that I could watch with my family. Moreover, the movies that really run are the clean ones, which require little or no exposing.

I will give myself another five-six years in this field. Beyond that, I don’t see myself doing mother roles. Right now acting is fun and I want to continue doing it till I can keep up with this tough and taxing schedule. Later, I would like to continue with my studies. A couple of years from now I see myself married, and with a regular office job that has standard working hours. Now is also the time to make some good investments with the money I earn. Since it is not wise to keep all your eggs in one basket, most TV artistes today are diverting into different fields. For instance, Achint Kaur (Pallavi) has opened a gym, Deepshikha (of Lipstick) has invested in a rest-o-bar and Ronit Roy has a security agency.

Success comes with talent, self-discipline and having one’s feet firmly on the ground. I’m Dollie today, so most people are good to me. But you never forget who was good to you when you were a nobody. When I started out, many people were unpleasant to me and gave me a tough time. Such people don’t realise that a nobody can turn into a somebody with time. I try and do my best to make a newcomer comfortable on my sets.

In all my passion to meet targets and remain focused, I sometimes feel I have lost the ability to enjoy life. I remain caught up in the mad rush to meet the next target. There’s even been no time to make boyfriends, which is such an integral part of growing up.

Whatever be the pluses and minuses of stressful schedules, I believe the world is a mirror. Smile, and the world smiles with you.