"Bhoot Bangla' actress Chhaya Vora on becoming a topic of GOSSIP after CHOPPED ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’scenes: ‘Didn’t affect me’

Chhaya Vora's journey in the entertainment industry began with Gujarati theatre in 1986. She spent close to eight years working in theatre and television before taking a break from acting. After staying away from the industry for 13 years, she made a strong comeback. She went on to feature in films like ‘Mitron’ and secured a role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's highly acclaimed ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, gradually making her mark once again.In a conversation with SCREEN, Chhaya opened up about her life and the choices she made along the way. She said, “I took a break for 13 years after I got married. When my son turned 12, my friends from the theatre industry asked me to resume work. I wanted to enjoy family life. So, I resumed doing plays, because it was convenient and gave me time too. I also worked on television. I did Zee TV’s first show, 'Dillagi'. In my second innings, I played Jackky Bhangnani’s mother in Mitron, then played Alia Bhatt’s mother in Gangubai Kathiawadi.”Although Chhaya Vora had a small part in Gangubai Kathiawadi, being part of such a big film was a dream come true for her. However, things did not go as planned when her scenes were edited out of the final cut, which led to some mockery from people around her. Talking about the experience, she said, “When the film was released, one of the assistants saw the film and messaged me that my dialogue portion from Jhoome Re Gori was edited out. Only my phone call scene was there, but it had just my voice. I had told everyone around me that my film was releasing, and I became a topic of gossip in the theater and TV industry after that. People said I spoke too soon and that I should have seen the film before announcing that I was in it. It didn’t affect me so much because that experience with SLB mattered to me.”On the work front, Chhaya Vora was recently seen playing a grandmother in ‘Bhoot Bangla’ and has more exciting projects lined up. She will next appear in a big-budget Bollywood film produced by a major production house, though she cannot reveal too many details about it just yet. Sharing what little she could, she said, “I am doing another film, and I have signed an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) for it. It’s produced by a huge banner, and while the actor in it is a newcomer, he is very famous on social media. The dubbing for it is done, and it should be released this year. Even though I have a guest appearance in the film, it’s a good role. The writers of that film are my fans; they called me for it, so I went ahead with it.”