Calling the shots: Mona interview

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Anjali

@blyton

Rocker

Posted: 17 years ago

Stepping out - with mona singh

Calling the shots

She won hearts as Jassi, danced her way to victory. But all she wants to do now is talk

Sharin Bhatti

Mumbai, September 03: Something about Mona Singh has not changed—her verve and effervescence. The first time I met her was in Chandigarh when the actor had made it to the Jhalak Dikhla Jaa final. She beamed and couldn't be more relieved to be called Mona Singh. "People are identifying me beyond Jassi. I can finally be myself," a newly-slimmed Mona had gushed. Two years later, the actor is back on the sets. Looking gorgeous in a red flowing dress—a huge departure from her frumpy Jassi avatar—Singh talks about Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal during the shooting of the revived TV show Extraaa Shots. The show, a half an hour programme preceding each film being premiered on Set Max, goes on air on September 15.

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Between the shots, the former sitcom queen chats with me. Singh admits that her overwhelming love for films made her audition for Extraaa Shots', and clear the test of her film quotient. The actor, who deliberately steered clear of sitcoms after Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, loves Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. She is excited to talk about films for the show. And it doesn't come as a surprise when she confesses that she loves to chatter. "I am a Punjabi from an Army background. I will always speak my mind," Singh says candidly. Being a Punjabi myself, I cannot help but agree with her. "Aren't we always opinionated and fun loving?" she asks me. As I nod, she adds "We also play the perfect hosts." That could be the reason why Singh's next few months are packed with hosting a number of reality shows. "There's a makeover show called Naya Roop Nayi Zindagi on the lines of Makeup Stories. More talk shows are in the pipeline, but I can't give details now," she says. Talks, as expected, move to Jassi, which had introduced her in baggy clothes, glasses and braces. Nothing can be more taxing and rewarding than to undergo a transition before the entire nation, she says. But Singh, who always harboured the desire to be an actor, is hardly complaining. "I was in Class VIII when Khoobsurat and Udaan captured my imagination. I knew then what I want to do. I wanted to be a glam actress and a model. Then Jassi came to me," she reveals. But the decision to do Jassi didn't come instantly. She was "tormented" by the dilemma of doing a role which was going to cloak her real looks for long. But then that was the best vehicle to launch her into a career in showbiz. "For three years I became Jassi. She made me a celebrity," confesses Mona. Fresh challenges were hurled at her when she did Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. "I entered as an underdog and walked out as the winner. I learnt to dance and overcame my struggle with weight," Mona beams. The producer interrupts. Her shot is ready and a hug later, Mona is back to courting the camera.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=254485

Edited by blyton - 17 years ago

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NEELAM K. SUDHIR

@NKSUDHIR

Inactive

Posted: 17 years ago

Thanks for this good news Anjali. I cannot wait to find out the Set Max Schedule in my City.

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Anjali

@blyton

Rocker

Posted: 17 years ago

She sounds excited, I hope I get to watch this show. But isn't she harping too much about the Punjabi-Army background thing these days? Is it the Motormouth-Brainwash effect? 😕