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Archana Puran Singh opens up about doing C-grade films to survive: ‘I also wanted to become a heroine…’
Archana Puran Singh reflected on her early years with hubby Parmeet Sethi and what it felt like to be the only breadwinner in the family. Take a look
Behind her trademark laughter and comic timing, actor Archana Puran Singh has lived through some of the toughest moments of her life. Married to Parmeet Sethi for 33 years, the couple has now opened up about a difficult phase in their marriage when Archana was the main breadwinner while Parmeet was struggling to find his footing in the industry.
In a candid conversation on Archana’s YouTube channel, the two spoke openly about how Archana took on every project that came her way just to make ends meet. Parmeet, meanwhile, chose to wait for substantial roles, turning down smaller parts in hopes of becoming a leading man.
“I had repressed my feminine side…”
“When I married you, I was like, ‘Yes, I am the one who is earning.’ But somewhere I had repressed my feminine side, which wanted someone to provide, which wanted me to lean on someone and look up to him, just like my mother looked up to my father,” Archana said. “This was going on inside me. At that time, I didn’t know that this was going on inside me. I must be sending mixed signals to you also, because sometimes I would be like it doesn’t matter I am earning, but sometimes I would nudge you to earn and prod you for rejecting projects,” she said.
Archana revealed that financial pressure forced her to take on work she wouldn’t have otherwise considered. “Another mantra of mine is, I never say no to work. Now I have started saying no to some work. The result of that was that I did very bad films. I did C-grade films. Because my mindset was to put bread and butter on the table. At that time, I felt like if you had stepped up, I wouldn’t have to do that work,” she admitted.
Parmeet's side: “I was trying to become the hero…”
Parmeet, sharing his perspective, explained that he was seven years younger than Archana and still trying to establish his career. “At that time, my point of view was that your career had already played out, but my career was forming, and I thought that if I take one misstep, then I would be completely out of the industry. I was trying to become the hero for the longest time,” she said.
Archana playfully countered, “I also wanted to become a heroine,” to which Parmeet replied, “But you were seven years elder to me and ahead of me in career.”
Reflecting on those years, Archana said she eventually came to terms with the reality of their situation. “I should have remembered that you are seven years behind me. I was thinking that I also wanted to become a heroine, but when that didn’t pan out, I diversified. I became an anchor, a comic lady, I did side roles, bad films, C-grade films, cheap films, but I retained my dignity. In all of that, if I would not have maintained my dignity, I would not have been where I am today,” she said.
Archana Puran Singh and husband Parmeet Sethi have two sons together, Aaryamann Sethi and Ayushmaan Sethi.
