Despite being born into a family of seasoned actors — father, Tiku Talsania, a noted character actor and mother, Dipti, a popular theatre artist — Shikha Talsania says she never felt that she was born with special privileges. After going through her share of struggles to make a mark in the film industry, Shikha got her due recognition when she played one of the four lead roles in Veere Di Wedding.
Read | Veere Di Wedding actor Shikha Talsania: Thankfully, I wasn’t asked to play the fat friend this time
Asked if she is hopeful that she would now be noticed more [to play lead roles], the 32-year-old actor says that’s something one needs to ask the producers and casting directors. “I really like what I do. I strongly believe that there are no small parts, there are small actors. So, I am okay. The length [of my character] doesn’t matter to me. [What matters] is how much fun will it be to play that character, what [will be the] challenges there, what [will] I learn from it and what will be different in it than what I have done previously,” she says.
Shikha made her Bollywood debut with Wake Up Sid (2009) where she played Ranbir Kapoor’s best friend on-screen. On whether she is tired of playing the friend kind of roles on-screen, she exclaims: “Not at all! Firstly, because my characters in, say a, Wake Up Sid or a Veere Di Wedding, have been different. And secondly, I can never be tired of playing any role. I’ll say, ‘Just give them all to me and I will perform everything.’ I am hungry [as an] actor. So anything that I get, which is interesting, challenging and fun, bring it on and I’ll do them all. Yaar, hum log actors hain, hume kuch bhi de do, hum usme variation kar hi denge.”
{{/usCountry}}Shikha made her Bollywood debut with Wake Up Sid (2009) where she played Ranbir Kapoor’s best friend on-screen. On whether she is tired of playing the friend kind of roles on-screen, she exclaims: “Not at all! Firstly, because my characters in, say a, Wake Up Sid or a Veere Di Wedding, have been different. And secondly, I can never be tired of playing any role. I’ll say, ‘Just give them all to me and I will perform everything.’ I am hungry [as an] actor. So anything that I get, which is interesting, challenging and fun, bring it on and I’ll do them all. Yaar, hum log actors hain, hume kuch bhi de do, hum usme variation kar hi denge.”
{{/usCountry}}Read | When Shikha Talsania gave a ‘big hug’ to troll who hurled abuses at her
Quite often, actors try to make a statement with the roles they portray on-screen. Does Shikha ever think in that direction? “I go on a film set to perform and not to set [any] statements. So, I can’t really [imagine a day where] I’ve ever done a part where I intentionally went out and looked for something and said, ‘Hey, this is the statement I want to make’. As an actor, I just look at a film as a good story, and the character I’m playing as something challenging.”
The actor further adds, “As for my process [while signing a film], in every role that I take up, there will be a part of me that will always be in the character that I play, whether you relate to them or not.”
Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal
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