Weekend Exclusive | Barkha Bisht: Happy with East, Eying South

In the glamorous world of acting, Barkha Bisht is a well known figure, making her debut into the television industry with Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi which was aired on MTV India in 2004. From then onwards, she has climbed up the ladder to be a known face in Bengali films and the television space.

Speaking exclusively to Adgully, she said, "I actually entered through a All India talent hunt that MTV and Balaji were doing together at that point in time. I auditioned for the part and got through and this was how I entered the industry with my first television serial, Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi"

She believes had she not been an actor, she would have been in the corporate sector, as her first job was with a corporate firm. Currently anchoring on a show called Popcorn News on Zoom TV; Bisht reveals that she is not doing daily soaps any more. "I have been doing soaps for about six and half years now, so I feel it is time to take a break from it. Currently I am also doing Bengali films," she added with a smile.

Some of her memorable roles have been from the soap, Pyaar ke Do Naam - Ek Radhaa Ek Shyaam, where she played the lead role of Shyama, Radha and Radhika in her first serial on Star Plus. "All those three characters were my favorite roles," said Bisht

According to Bisht, the world of acting is not as glamorous as it may look on screen. "As an actor, we look so glamorous on screen but it takes a lot of time and efforts and mental and physical stress to do our work. We have long shooting hours with no proper eating and sleeping times. You basically have no life and don't have the time to do anything else. If you manage to get the time, you just want to sleep and rest. It is a very very difficult profession to be in," she said

As far as roles were concerned, Bisht found the character of Shyama very challenging in which she had to play a village girl. With a twinkle in her eyes, she said, "It was challenging since the body language and style of speaking was different because you know we have a very urban way of doing things. Another role I had to do was that of a dacoit's called Dhani, so that was physically challenging, because I had to a lot of horse riding, sword fighting, jumping and things like that."

Bisht prefers hosting to acting because while one is hosting a show, one is free to be oneself. "Hosting is cool because you get to be yourself and not some character which is great. It is not as time consuming as television serials are. I think it is a lot of fun and you get to talk about people, which is interesting. As long as you got good communication skills, this profession is not challenging," she further added.

There are a couple of new shows that she is looking at in the near future. "There are probably a couple of reality shows which I am considering right now. There is a dance reality show in the pipeline and besides that I am going to be judging a dance reality show in Calcutta. It is a new channel that we are looking at. Also I am in between shooting my second Bengali film right now," she said.

Bisht further goes on to say that she never actively tried getting into Bollywood. "I don't have the patience to sit and try to get a role in Bollywood. Right now I am happy doing what I am doing. Bengali cinema is what I am doing right now and that is keeping me occupied. I would like to look at south Indian films because I think they make very interesting films," she explained. She further added that she believes if she is doing good work, then she will get enough opportunities.

Bisht very aptly describes "Acting is a passion because if you don't have the passion for it, you will never be happy doing it." Apart from acting and dancing which she loves, she also likes to watch foreign films in her free time. "I love shopping like all women and reading too. I also like cooking and try to make time for it whenever I can," she said

She urges acting aspirants to enter this field with passion and belief in themselves. "If you know you have it then it will definitely happen for you, however be prepared for a lot of failures but don't let that put you down because it is a part of the industry," she said | By Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]