From reacting to the upcoming season of Bigg Boss rumours to talking about major pay cuts after COVID; Reem Shaikh on her acting career since childhood

Reem Shaikh has been winning hearts with Laughter Chefs, the actress has been entertaining her fans since childhood. In a candid chat with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Reem opened up about her first show, pay cuts and more.

I’ve heard Bigg Boss isn’t coming back. Right? No Bigg Boss feels strange, right? It’s like there used to be a house with four rooms, and now two are empty. Although, honestly, we only used to watch it when we or someone we knew was on the show. I’ve watched it since childhood. I used to enjoy it. But once you're inside the show, once you get to understand a character, then you start wondering what they’ll do next. I used to genuinely enjoy Bigg Boss as an audience member. But in the last 2-3 years, I don't know what happened.

Even now, actually. In fact, now I think every one is getting paid less. After COVID, people got used to working for less money. Channels now think, “Oh, they can manage with this,” so now they want us to work for the same rate forever. And even before that, outdoor shoots were very common. But during COVID, everything got restricted. Shows were made in limited spaces—and they worked! So now everyone believes that if it worked back then, it’ll work now too—so they don’t want to invest in big sets or outdoor shoots anymore.

Earlier, the fun for actors was in travelling the world because shoots used to happen in various cities and countries. But now we hardly step outside. I’m a TV girl. Getting a show in Film City today is a big deal. No one wants to set up before Naigaon now. There was a time when everything was shot in Film City. Now we have to travel to Naigaon, I leave at 7 AM and travel 1.5-2 hours each way. That’s 4 hours lost. Then 12 hours of work, and you’re spending 16 hours of your day on it. Food, rest, you figure it out.

My first show was “Devi”. The set was in Naigaon. So my first show itself was in Naigaon. It was like travelling to Dubai every day (laughs). My dad used to go with me. I remember, in December’s winter, we’d go on the scooter early in the morning to Naigaon. Yes, on the scooter! And the cold at 5:30 AM—freezing on the bike! That was a different time. Then face the cold in the morning, the heat all day in Naigaon, and then cold again on the return journey at night. I used to doze off on the bike and start falling off.

It just kept going. I never really got a moment to pause and reflect. Since I understood anything, I’ve been an actor. My dad put me to work in childhood, and it just kept going. There was only one phase in my life when I didn’t work for two years. Not because I wanted a break or to focus on my studies, it’s just that I wasn’t getting any work.

I’m someone who accepts failure. That’s my motto in life, learn to accept your failures. I’m the first to admit, “Yes, I’m not getting work,” or “This isn’t working out.” I don’t lie by saying, “I did courses” or whatever. No—I just didn’t get work. And I think that the two-year phase taught me the value of work. I had started so young, that everything felt like a game. So that phase was necessary. It happened right when I was growing up from age 15 to 16, the crucial learning years. And during that time, I wasn’t getting work. So that made me grounded.

That 'up' is not happening, it's not coming to me. I genuinely feel that way. Because when I did Raabta, that was a major show for me. After that, I did two back-to-back shows. I mean literally back-to-back with a three-month gap between them. Like, I did one show for a year, and within three months, I was doing another show. So when I had done those three major shows in my life, I felt like, 'Okay, now I’ve reached that category, the ₹1.5 to ₹2 lakh per day category.' Even that I'm saying conservatively. Actors used to get ₹1.5 to ₹2 lakh per day 15 years ago. I thought, okay, maybe not that much, but at least around that. But right now, the budget isn’t even close to that. And I feel like, I’ve worked for 15 years now. And it’s not just about working hard, hard work is one thing, but I’ve also delivered results. I’m saying this honestly, I’ve delivered TRPs too.