Divyanka Tripathi: Being veggie, touching raw fish was challenging

File image of Divyanka Tripathi. Image sourced from mid-day archives

Television star Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya makes her debut in the digital entertainment space with the upcoming web series Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala. She says she went through extensive workshop to learn the tricks of a chef, her role on the show. As she is a vegetarian, touching raw chicken and fish was a challenge, too.

"Playing a chef was challenging for me, considering I am not a good cook in real life. In fact, I do not enjoy cooking that much. At home, I cook only when I try to impress my husband. So I had to learn a lot of things as part of preparation for the role. The most challenging part was to hold and cut raw chicken and raw fish, as I am a vegetarian," " I had to overcome that awkwardness and I did…that is how we actors take up challenges and learn from it," Divyanka told IANS.

The story of the show revolves around the lives of two successful chefs who once used to be lovers. Divyanka portrays a chef named Nitya. The workshop that she attended with co-star Rajeev Khandelwal were conducted by a professional chef, who trained them on how to chop and dice vegetable and meat.

"Getting the body language right while doing kitchen work was important because Rajeev and I play high-profile chefs. That apart, the story has a graph that takes them back to college, eight years ago," Divyanka said.

Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, the show also features Priyanshu Chatterjee, Barkha Bisht, Navneet Nishan and Manini Mishra. Starting her career on television in 2003, Divyanka became a household name for the TV series Banoo Main Teri Dulhann, and in the upcoming web series, she played a chef for the first time.

According to the actress, she also worked on her look for the show. "To play my younger self in the show, I had to lose weight, and from hairstyle to makeup, me my team worked on detailing. This is the first time I cut my hair for a character," said the actress.

Did she develop any interest in cooking after working on the show? "Yes, I did. Now I find cooking interesting. I try to cook a new dish at home and if it comes out well, I feel happy. Now I know some tricks of cooking," she replied.

Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala premieres on the OTT platforms Alt Balaji and ZEE5 on September 3.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates