|
|
The life and times of Rusty
Soumya Tandon, the light-eyed protagonist of Aisa Des Hai Mera, divulges some well-kept secrets about life before and after playing Rusty
Aditi Jayakar Kane
LIFE BEFORE RUSTY
I was a regular college girl living with my mother in Delhi. My sister is married and lives in London, my father has passed away. I had friends with whom I used to go shopping and have weekend parties. I also enrolled for an MBA programme as I felt I had a very good sense of business - even after a long day I still sit and work out calculations in my mind. I did a lot of modelling and anchoring, and even acted in a couple of short corporate films in Delhi. Then I came to Mumbai for an ad campaign and circulated my pictures here. Six months later I auditioned for Aisa Des Hai Mera and got selected! At first I was a bit apprehensive about signing a two-year contract and shifting base to this city, but I love acting and I loved the script, so I decided to take the plunge.
THE PAINS OF BEING RUSTY
I have to shoot, shoot and shoot some more. I don't really have much of a life really. I shoot sometimes from 7 in the morning, till midnight! In fact when I was shooting in London, I had absolutely no time to take in the sights although I would have loved to do so. I rushed frantically to do some shopping and managed to buy a pair of expensive boots. But guess what! The boots turned out to be from India after all!
So it's work, work and more work. I don't have a social life really. I would love to find a life partner and get married too but there's no time to even chat with my mom, leave alone date someone. My screen character is often sad, so my mother once asked me, "Why do you look so sad these days?" (Laughs) I hope I don't change much.
THE PLEASURES OF BEING RUSTY
I love the people on my sets; everyone is extremely sweet and we are like family. Everyone brings some food from home every day, like shrikhand and gulab jamun and biryani and we have a huge party. I don't think I am a celebrity yet because I haven't had the time to interact with people outside. But it feels nice when people smile at you sometimes when they recognise you. I also love acting as it makes you very mature. You begin to open up and allow yourself to experiment with a range of emotions and thoughts. I think I've expanded emotionally after playing Rusty.
SOUMYA v/s RUSTY
In a lots of ways I can identify with Rusty. We're both innocent and sensitive. But the real me is very cautious, while Rusty is impulsive. I'm a desi too at heart, like Rusty is, and would never like to live outside India. I am a Punjabi like the character I play but I love Gujarati food. I also love watching desi comedies like the Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Sarabhai V/s Sarabhai. And we both seem to have travelled far from the place we've been brought up in, all for a dream!
Shiv Shakti
