‘I started my career as a..-Kirti[Chandni

Remember the chubby girl who played the lead role of an orphan being raised by three bar dancers in Kammal on Zee TV, a couple of years ago? That innocent girl, who made people sit up and notice her at that time, has grown up with serials like Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka and Saat Phere. With Sindoor having completed 300 episodes and Saat Phere 200, it's time for her to look back and recall her past.

"I did not have a fairytale beginning to my innings on the small screen," says Kirti Gaikwar recalling her early days. With a Central government employee father who was posted in Kanpur, Kirti did not have much scope in the industrial city to explore her talent. "Luckily for me, TV director Gajendra Singh (of Sa Re Ga Ma and Antakshari fame) was known to the family, and gave me a job in post-production for the game show Sawal Dus Crore Ka on Zee TV," says Kirti, traelling back into her past. Keerti talks about her first big break with Kammal.

"I had gone there for the audition of another serial, Kohi Apna Sa. But after the first audition, Ekta (Kapoor) wanted to meet me personally. I did not even know that I was being considered for the lead role in Kammal!" exclaims Kirti. And that was just the beginning; Kirti never had to look back after that. With so many serials and varied characters to her credit, her professional life is simply rocking.

And not only on the professional front, on the personal level to, Kirti couldn't have asked for more. Having found a life partner in Sharad Kelkar, who also happens to be her co-star in Sindoor Tere Naam Ka and Saat Phere, Kirti could not be more content in life. All the marital happiness reflects on her face and words.

How does she balance her personal and professional lives, since both of them have a pretty hectic lifestyle? "It sometimes happens that he comes back from his shoot at 3 am while I have to leave at 9 am. But even then, in such situations we make it a point to have at least our morning tea together," Kirti reveals.

You ask her how she found her Mr. Right, and she can not stop grinning. "The first time I met Sharad was while doing a serial together called Aakrosh on DD, but at that time, we didn't feel anything for each other," Kirti admits. "Then we met for CID Special Bureau, which I eventually did not do. Then suddenly one day, he asked me out on a date and proposed to me after a few days. I wasn't even prepared for it. It came as a big surprise since he had not shown much inclination towards me when we met for the first time. It was much later that he confessed about having liked me atour very first meeting. Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka was the first show we did together after getting involved," adds the actress.

Been there, done that; Kirti has scaled television quite successfully. What next now? "The TV industry has been very supportive, and I am getting to work with some very good people." Anything she regrets having not got so far? "Yeah, I never got a chance to play a modern girl wearing western outfits. But that too got fulfilled recently when I got the role of Manisha in the recently concluded India Calling," says Kirti adding that because of her innocent face, she is always made to wear traditional Indian dresses like saris, salwar kameez etc.