Exclusive - Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai 2.0 actress Sangeetaa Balachandran on 2025: It was a year of challenges and unexpected turning points

As 2025 nears its end, actor Sangeetaa Balachandran, who is seen as Gayatri Devi, Tiwari's Mausi in Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai 2.0, calls it a year of struggle, growth, and challenges.She said, "It was a year of all three: growth, challenges, and unexpected turning points. Growth in the sense that my book was published, which was on simple methods to learn acting. I also did, I think, the maximum number of ads this year, especially in the latter part of the year. The latter part of the year was much better for me than the beginning, as it brought many lovely big brand ads and interesting roles." "Challenges, of course, came from doing different kinds of work. But the biggest challenge for me was more on the book front rather than the acting front, because that was an unexplored territory for me, but I managed. And as for unexpected turning points, the greatest one was being cast in such a beautiful role in Bhabhiji 2.0. I never expected that, and I am very thrilled with my role," she added.Having spent her fair share of time in the industry, she mentioned that her characters have not pushed her out of her comfort zone. She said, "Nothing was that different or that challenging, you know, that I had to really work on it. Most of the things that I have got are roughly around the same kind of roles, with slight differences, but nothing that I would say truly pushed me out of my comfort zone.""And as far as this series is concerned, I am a new entrant, and I’m still finding my comfort zone. To say it honestly, it will still take some time, I guess," she added.Though Sangeetaa took time out to write her book this year, she mentioned that acting comes naturally to her. She said, "For me, it comes from the heart. It’s very spontaneous. For me, that’s what acting is about. I’m very passionate about it, and I feel most alive when I’m acting. So, the change is that I have realized this. A lot of people tell me, 'You change your character even in ads, in just 30 seconds.' And that is when I started thinking as to what exactly am I doing? And I realized I’m really not thinking and doing anything; it happens automatically, naturally, effortlessly.""And that, I think, is because of my earlier training in theater, which I may have gone back into while I was doing my writing, and that has kind of come up. So I think that’s the basic change in 2025 that I could say has been there in me," she added.With 2025 ending in a few days, she is full of gratitude and said, "I’m most grateful for the way God takes care of me, the way he looks after things for me, the way he plans things for me, and his little gifts that he has given me.""My little pet Layla, who came to me after Covid, actually. After Covid is when I started my acting again. So I’m grateful that today I have come back to acting after so many years. I’m grateful, I think, for everything in my life and maybe just for being alive," she added.2025 has also been a year full of learnings for her. She said, "I learned that opportunities can come in a second. It just takes a moment for an opportunity to come your way and for things to go from okay to great. It also just takes a second for things to go from maybe good to horrible.""In this line, very few people can say that there has been a steady movement in their graph, a constant, steady upward graph. It is always up and down. So I think that is something that is part of our profession, and we can’t escape that," she added.One thing you will leave behind? "I think I would just leave the year 2025 and move into 2026 because there is nothing really that I would say I want to leave behind. Nothing. I will move forward with everything that I have in terms of my memories, my possessions, my relationships, my friendships, everything," Sangeetaa concluded.