“My mother learned how to drive so that she could drop me for my basketball practice 40 minutes away from my Pune home,” Ayushi Gupta recalls. While the actor credits her mother for pushing her to explore speech, drama and kathak, she insists she always had the freedom to choose. So, they were quite supportive when Ayushi decided to move to Mumbai to pursue acting.
Doing experimental theater, Ayushi says, opened up different facets of herself. That transcended into wanting to act full-time. “Slowly, I fell in love with the honesty that only the camera can capture,” she says.
Getting cast in the show Hostel Daze, now in its third season, and the short film The Song We Sang, felt surreal, she says. “Acting has made me more empathetic; I’m not half as judgmental as I was.”
List three things that nobody knows you.
1. I’m a very messy person. My room looks like something had blown up in it. But, I’m getting a little better at cleaning.
2. Secondly, I don’t like road trips as I hate being in a car for long periods of time.
3. Thirdly, I’m a hoarder. I save notes, pressed flowers and even chocolate wrappers from special occasions.
{{/usCountry}}3. Thirdly, I’m a hoarder. I save notes, pressed flowers and even chocolate wrappers from special occasions.
{{/usCountry}}A guilty pleasure?
A tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin-Robbins.
Your midnight munch?
Could even be a full-fledged meal. I can’t eat in a hurry or while standing.
Your relationship deal-breaker?
Disrespect. If your partner doesn’t respect you, your work, your life, your choices, then it takes away from you as a person.
Your favourite podcast or song?
I listen to the entire Hamilton soundtrack all the time.
One thing you do for your mental health?
Once in a while, I consciously disassociate. I go somewhere in the midst of nature, leaving my phone be. I meditate for 15 minutes daily and do some activity that makes me happy.
What would you do on a girls’ night?
Catch up, play games, maybe have some wine and chill. Just be silly. Female friendships are important to me. With them, I feel completely free to be the way I want to be.
Is there something that you regret?
Every single time I say something mean to my mother or when I am irritated. I feel so bad that I just roam around her like a puppy.
A fashion item you hoard?
I see cute clothes and I buy them. But, I have never found the occasion to wear so many, so, I have just hoarded them for years.
A fitness option you recommend.
Dancing. I’m a terrible dancer but it’s just so liberating and so much fun. I enjoy pole dancing in my spare time. You have to find a fitness regime that is fun for you.
What’s the most extreme thing you have done for love?
When I was younger, a lot of silly things, like planning surprises and showing up at the airport. But, now I realise that true love would never ask you to do extreme things.
{ Bedside stories }
How many pillows do you need to sleep?
I don’t stash any pillows under my head. I need one to hold onto, and one over my head. I make this cave, and sleep inside it.
A bedtime habit you want to break?
I am an overthinker and I wish I could stop thinking and just be able to sleep.
Have you danced on your bed?
A lot.
What do you wear to bed?
My comfiest clothes, like an old oversized T-shirt. I don’t have any cute night clothes.
Your reaction to the morning alarm?
Snooze. Snooze. For half an hour.
{ This or that? }
Downtown bungalow or sea-facing apartment?
Sea-facing apartment, for sure.
Staying with mom and dad or moving out?
Moving out to live alone.
Baked vegetables or pav bhaji?
Pav bhaji is my go-to comfort food.
Ryan Gosling or Brad Pitt?
Ryan Gosling.
From HT Brunch, December 17, 2022
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