"Main Punjab di nu haan (I am Punjab's daughter-in-law)," says former actress and model Deepti Bhatnagar, in Chandigarh for the launch of a jewellery store on Wednesday. Though her foray into modelling yielded success, the same couldn't be said for her acting career.
So, in 2001, she ventured into television production with the travel shows Yatra (a religious travel guide show) and Musafir Hoon Yaaron (an around the world travel guide show), both aired on
Star Plus. She also hosted both the shows and visited around 80 countries in six years for Musafir Hoon Yaaron.
According to Deepti, travel-based stories always work, as people get to see different places and experiences. "Travelling changed my personality and I want Indians to wake up to concepts like backpacking and couch surfing and exploring unconventional places, not run-of-the-mill destinations," says she.
Having established her production house, Deepti Bhatnagar Productions Pvt Ltd, she believes that it is a natural progression for actors to eventually turn towards production. "This is a good time to be an actor though," says she, adding, "The industry has become more professional with this influx of new actors and directors."
{{/usCountry}}Having established her production house, Deepti Bhatnagar Productions Pvt Ltd, she believes that it is a natural progression for actors to eventually turn towards production. "This is a good time to be an actor though," says she, adding, "The industry has become more professional with this influx of new actors and directors."
{{/usCountry}}Deepti plans on producing a new religion-based travel show that will air on YouTube. "Online is the new media to watch things, people hardly turn on their TV sets these days, preferring the convenience of laptops and computers," says she. Deepti is also venturing into movies as a producer with the Rituaprno Ghosh directed Taak Jhaak, starring Jaya Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah and Konkona Sen Sharma. "It is a romantic comedy and is a strong performance-oriented film," she says.