Even when I fainted and was hospitalised, I returned to shoot for Uttaran: Tina Dutta

TV actor Tina, who played the lead in Uttaran for six years, says that she will explore different things now that the show is getting over

At a time when actors try and build their body of work by taking up multiple projects. Tina Dutta was content essaying just the one lead role in one show, Uttaran, for six years. Now, when the show — that ran for eight years — is coming to an end, the actor is feeling nostalgic.

Tina-Dutta

"I am feeling emotional about the show ending as I have been with it for six years. It’s been my baby and close to my heart," says Tina.

The show that started off on a high note and sustained its popularity for quite some time, faced a slump in ratings in the last few years. But the 23-year-old stuck to the serial. Ask her if it was about being in a comfort zone or the fear of not getting something better, and she says, "I never feared not getting good work. I have been loyal to the show as I had committed to stay with it till the end. I got offers for Bengali and Hindi films as well as reality shows, but due to my contract, I couldn’t take them up. Now, I would like to do a Bengali film."

While there was a time when rumours of Tina throwing tantrums on the sets and threatening to quit the show were doing the rounds, the actor was unperturbed by such reports. "What I am today is because of this show. Being part of one show for six years was a challenge. Many of my friends told me to try something else, but I didn’t pay heed. Even when I fainted and was hospitalised, I returned to the shoot the next day," she says.

Tina shared screen space with Rashami Desai, who had a pivotal role in the show too. But that didn’t stop Rashami from taking up other projects. So, was there ever a sense of insecurity over Rashami’s popularity? Tina says, "Never. We didn’t have such issues because we are friends. Hats off to her for pulling it off, but I can’t stretch myself so much and survive on a few hours of sleep."