Doing a Hindi TV show has been fun, my stint on Gujarati TV has helped: Sneha Chauhan

Sneha Chauhan, who shot into the limelight while playing the lead role in the popular Gujarati TV show Lakshmi Sadaiv Mangalam, is currently playing an important role in the Hindi show Saavi Ki Savaari. This Vadodara girl, who plays the role of Taashvi in the show, is also known for her role in the Gujarati film Gajab Thai Gayo! and cameos in the D-Town film Backbencher and Hindi TV shows like Sasural Simar Ka, says that she is “looking forward to a great 2023.” Excerpts from a chat:

‘Whatever I learnt while doing my Gujarati show is helping me now’
It has been almost six months since I started shooting for Saavi Ki Savaari and it has been great fun. I had been shooting for a web show when Tushar (Bhardwaj) sir, the creative director of the show, asked me to come for a look test. Soon after that, I was told that I needed to shoot from the next day! I was not prepared for this but now, I am thoroughly enjoying playing this important role. Initially, my track was supposed to last for just two months, but I am glad that my character got an extension. Being one of the youngest members on set, I am pampered by everyone and I have developed a great bond with Mansi Srivastava and Farman Haider. My co-actors in this show get shocked because I don’t need glycerine while doing any emotional scenes. I learnt this trick while doing Lakshmi Sadaiv Mangalam and whatever I learnt during that show is helping me now. I think doing a regional show teaches you a lot of things. While doing my Gujarati show, we had just one camera due to budget constraints and we would shoot about 15 to 18 scenes daily. So, in comparison, I find things more relaxed on the sets of my current Hindi show, where we shoot about six-seven scenes daily. I miss shooting for my Gujarati show


‘OTT is a very challenging medium for actors'

I am shooting for my OTT show simultaneously and since the two characters are very different from each other, it has been challenging. In between, there was a 12-day period when I was shooting for my TV show at night and after that, I would head from Naigaon to Madh Island to shoot for the OTT show. I hardly got to sleep for two hours on those days, but I enjoyed the experience. OTT is a really challenging medium for actors because you must ensure that your performances are natural. Unless you do that, the OTT audience won’t find it realistic enough. You need to pay a lot of attention to even small details while doing OTT projects.


‘I am keen to do a Gujarati film this year’

I took up Gajab Thai Gayo! only because I wanted to do a film with Malhar Thakar! It was a great experience and this year, I am keen to do a Gujarati film as the female lead. One interesting thing about my acting journey so far is that I did not have to do a proper audition for any of my roles. I have been selected for projects after the makers saw my photos and I was directly called for the mock shoot. Since my younger brother (Krish Chauhan) is an actor too, he has helped me out a lot.

‘Balancing studies and acting hasn’t been easy’

Currently, I am pursuing B.Com (third year) from MSU and balancing studies and acting has not been easy. While we had online classes during the first and second year due to COVID, I haven’t been able to attend the offline classes this year. However, I am managing with whatever study materials I have got. I am also proud of the fact that Krish and I are managing things on our own in Mumbai. In fact, despite doing these two shows, I cook for both of us and we don’t have a maid. My mom visits us in Mumbai once in three weeks and our parents are proud of the way we are handling our careers.