Exclusive: Shark Anupam Mittal’s wife Anchal Kumar reacts to their family being under constant public eye, ‘I had told him about the fame that’s going to come’

Anchal Kumar Mittal, who has been a model and actress at a young age, got married to Shark Tank India fame Anupam Mittal, spoke to ETimes TV about the show at home, the popularity and a lot more. She also spoke about making a comeback at work, not being willing to take up acting offers or get into any business venture. The popular model and Bigg Boss fame got candid like never before. Here’s all you need to know:

Yes, shooting for Shark Tank India does take a toll. Shooting for long hours, shooting away from home is cumbersome. He is not an actor or a model, who takes assignments and then he can chill. He is an entrepreneur. He has his things going on – his business, investments and so on. Weekends were the only time dedicated to family. It has been challenging. Right now, the mahaul (atmoshpere) in the house is better, though he has to attend events over the weekend. I am not complaining, but I wish to see more of him at home.

Well, it is part and parcel of life. Anupam has always been there to support me as well. Once we got married, Anupam never told me not to take up work. When you are married there are so many social obligations, family functions and so on. I can’t recollect a single time when he asked me to give up working. I used to travel extensively for fashion shows and assignments. Just the way he has supported me, it is so important for me to show the same support when he needs it. I won’t call it a sacrifice. We are a family. We do things for our parents, and siblings so why not for your own spouse? It creates a happy atmosphere in the family as well. If I don’t support him then who would?

This is something that I chose to do myself. It wasn’t imposed upon me. After I got married I continued to work just the way I was earlier. There was only change that was in my residence. My career was flourishing just as much. When motherhood came about, there was so much joy. I had been working since I was 16 and I was really looking forward to this next step. The industry I come from is about how you look. So there was no way that I could get back to work without being in shape. When my daughter was 2 and half, I did take up a few shows. But then a lockdown happened and we were sitting at home. That’s when I discovered this talent that I can make videos. I did my bit and have been enjoying the flexibility of being able to work from home.

Absolutely. That was a very conscious decision I made. We were four sisters and our mother gave us undivided attention. My mom did everything from chores to cooking and yet four of us would be dressed perfectly. I would be amazed to see how she would manage to do all things at once. During Alyssa’s growing up years, I wanted to be like my mom. I was very clear that whenever I embrace motherhood, I want to be beside my daughter every single moment till the time she is not able to communicate. This entire time with her has been a blessing.

Yes, that’s the power of TV you know. I sort of faced that 12 years ago when I did Bigg Boss. It was easy for me to understand the fame Anupam is going through. 12-13 years ago when I was a part of Bigg Boss, there was no social media. When I came out of the house, for 2 years it was crazy, people reognised me everywhere I went. Thankfully, I could take this easily and I saw this coming. Interestingly, I told Anupam before Shark Tank first episode aired, to wait for a week and it’s going to get crazy. He had hardly 1000 followers and now he has more than 1M followers. I am well versed with the industry and it is nice. I am an avid watcher and he makes me feel so proud. He adds so much value and insight. I get so many emails and messages. I am always smiling ear to ear because people stop me and praise Anupam. But, to be very honest, when we are on a vacation and fans come to take photographs, sometimes I feel it’s not fair because we have such limited time to spend on holidays. I feel there should be less of it but I am so proud of him.

It is inevitable. Wherever we go or don’t go, they forward those memes to me. There is such good talent out there. Good job with all the memes. We have a great laugh. Luckily, Anupam has a great sense of humour. Even if there is a meme poking fun at him, he just laughs it off. It’s incredible how the entire meme culture became so popular along with Shark Tank. It is great fun.

I have immense passion for the industry I come from. Whatever I have done, it’s never been cumbersome. I take up any assignment with a big smile because it is important to enjoy what you do. Business is something I don’t understand. My husband is doing brilliantly well at that so I will let him do that and I am very happy what I am doing. I am happy to let him be a part of my industry too so I would rather stay away from business because it just doesn’t make any sense to me.

It’s been a long journey and a lot of hard work. I didn’t belong to Mumbai. I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. When we moved here, we didn’t know too many people. Things just fell in place for me, from one modelling assignment to another. I had lustrous long hair and I got a campaign and then it followed. That’s how my journey began. Having said that, it’s easy to get intimidated. It looks glamorous but it is a cut-throat competition. Why I chose to become a model and not an actress is because I love the fashion industry. There is no such cr*p as casting couch. Our industry is a very close-knit industry.

No, absolutely not. I have shied away from them for many many years. Back in the days when I was actively working, I have done several music videos. That is something I have loved doing. I have always enjoyed the modelling part even in the film industry but I never wanted to be an actor. I didn’t want to act then, I don’t want to act now. But I love music videos and the little bit of acting that you do while endorsing a product.