Shambhavi Sharma, an 'MTV Roadies' finalist, has landed herself a lead role in Sony's new show 'Chajje Chajje Ka Pyar'. While crediting it for providing her a platform in showbiz, she admits that the reality show is semi-planned and not completely spontaneous.
'Roadies' has helped me a lot. I got noticed, I got a lot of fame in that and it indeed opened up a platform for me,' Shambhavi, who stole the limelight on the show for her conniving and flirtatious ways, told IANS.
She was a finalist on the fifth season of 'MTV Roadies' which is now running its eighth edition.
Asked whether reality shows like 'Roadies' are scripted, Shambhavi said: 'We are sometimes asked to portray ourselves in a certain way, but many things on the show are real also, like vote-outs are not planned.'
'I would say the fights are planned because they put us into such a situation that we end up fighting which each other. I would say the show is semi-planned,' the 22-year-old Delhi girl said.
Contrary to the common perception that 'Roadies' taskmasters Raghu and Rajiv are tough, Shambhavi says they are not what they are shown to be on the small screen.
'Raghu and Rajiv are very sweet. They are not the way they portray themselves on television. Off camera they are very nice,' she said.
Shambhavi's father is a doctor, while her mother is a lawyer. Her sister teaches hotel management in Australia. Shambhavi is pursuing law through correspondence from Dehradun.
After 'Roadies', she got a chance to host a show 'G-Talk' on MTV. Shambhavi was busy completing her studies until 'Chajje Chajje...' came up to her.
'Acting is my passion, but I never thought of acting in television. I wanted to anchor and do films. I can't say I was waiting for a break. I was just enjoying my life until I was approached for the role of Ginny in the show and I just fell in love with this concept and the character,' said Shambhavi.
The show also stars veteran actors Kiran Kumar and Virender Singh.
The actress says she is enjoying working with veteran actors and is also learning a lot from them.
'At first I felt it would be difficult. In my first scene I was very tense, Virenderji came up to me and motivated me saying everything will go well,' she said.
'Both Kiranji and Virenderji helped me a lot. I am also learning a lot by watching how they act, their nuances, their expressions, their body language. We have become like a family on the sets,' she added.
Shambhavi is also excited about the fact that renowned designer Vikram Phadnis has styled her in the show.
'I am so lucky that someone who has designed for stars like Bipasha Basu and Malaika Arora Khan has designed my look. He worked so much on my look, my hair, makeup; it feels great to be styled by him,' she said.
