Exclusive! Saloni Khanna: Entering the showbiz definitely was not a cakewalk

Saloni Khanna (Photo/PR)

Had life not blossomed on the silver screen, she would have perhaps been busy with engineering and machines at a swanky corporate office. But destiny had something else in store for actress Saloni Khanna. She has worked in shows such as 'The Raikar Case' and 'Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala'. However, her recent work in 'Broken But Beautiful 3' and 'Sunflower' have garnered her more fan following than ever.

We caught up with the actress, who got candid like never before. From her Delhi days to how she began her acting career in Mumbai and her struggling days, her love story with actor Viraff Patel, Saloni tells it all in this candid interview. Excerpts below:

'A pakka Delhiwali at heart'

I am a true Delhi girl in every sense of the word. I speak like one, I look like one, I talk like one, at least that's what people tell me. In fact, when I moved to Mumbai is when the distinction of the fact that I am a "Delhi girl" became very clear to me. So when I would speak in Hindi and used terms like 'Ye de diyo', Ye kar liyo', people in Mumbai used to give me those stares, and give me that strange look wondering why am I being rude and disrespectful. Delhi has its own charm, the food there, the friend circle that I have there. I have done my schooling in Delhi. I was graduated from Delhi. I have done my engineering in Delhi. So Delhi is such an important part of my childhood and my life. I think the 20 years of my life was spent in Delhi. It's a city where my family is there and honestly, my heart is there and will always be.

'Worked in the airline sector? Never!'

It is strange, and I get to hear this a lot. But I have never worked in the airline sector. I was an engineer and I was working in a corporate sector in TCS and that's about it. I've never worked in the airline sector. In fact, I did not even apply for an airline job. So I don't know how that information is still available on the internet. I am an engineer and I did engineering from Delhi. I applied for a job in the corporate sector developing software and I used to sit in front of the computer for a 9 to 5 job. Honestly, that was not where my heart was. I was somebody who used to always perform on stage and always dancing and singing, which was a very integral part of my life. I didn't know what to do next. I had no idea of the industry and where I come from, acting, singing, modelling, dancing are considered hobbies. And that's really sad. I think it is also because as outsiders you are a little apprehensive of things you really don't know about. And nobody, including my parents, knew anything about the acting industry. So it was considered to be a hobby. And taking up acting as a profession was never in thought in my head. I always wanted to become an MBA, because I was getting very bored of doing what I was doing. However, life had other plans. If you allow life to flow, and you flow with it, you will always go where you are meant to be. And that exactly what happened. I got a modelling offer sitting in my office, one day on Facebook from an agency in Delhi and on a whim I decided to check it out. Then there was no looking back. I started modelling. I went to Bombay. I got introduced to theatre that introduced me to acting, which took me behind the camera and then later in front of the camera.

Also Read: 'Three things that COVID-19 pandemic gave me' - TV actor Viraf Patell

'Train yourself to become an actor'

Entering the showbiz was definitely not a cakewalk. Though things happen on their own in the beginning, like I got an opportunity to come to Bombay because of the modelling assignment, and I started doing theatre. But I realise later that... you know when I was doing modelling in Delhi, a lot of people used to say, 'Hey you are such a good-looking girl, you can dance, sing, you are tall, why don't you become an actor?' and I wasn't sure if I could be an actor. So, I decided to come to Bombay and I realised that the main thing that is required for me to become an actor is that I don't have proper training. I never trained as an actor. And I realise how important training is when I was doing theatre. I gave a couple of auditions without training, and when I gave auditions with training there was a huge amount of difference in my performance. That's when I realised how important is to train yourself to become an actor. My advice to every newbie out there, please do get trained in whatever field you want to make a good career. If you want to be a singer, train yourself in singing, if you want to be a painter, train your art. I don't think so there is any sort of shortcut out there. Sometimes, you might get clicked without training, but to sustain you definitely need to get trained in your job.

'I dealt with a lot of rejections'

When you come to Bombay with your dreams, sometimes, you come with the timeline... like you have two or three years to achieve a certain goal. And if it doesn't happen within the timeline you are left with no option but to go back, because it is not easy to survive here. There is no stability. So when I came here it was difficult, there was a lot of rejection, there were a lot of ups and downs. I dealt with constant instability and I didn't know what was going to happen next. But I sustained in Bombay. Even though I was not a paid actor I was modelling and that's what helped me pay my bills. So I have immense respect for the field because whatever I could do today, whatever I am today is because I was modelling to survive in the city of dreams.

Also Read: Viraf Patell shares wedding pictures; talks about getting married amid pandemic

'Jab we met'

As cliche as it sounds, I met Viraff on the sets of a show, that we were doing for SonyLIV. We were cast opposite each other and I still remember the first time impression of Viraff (Patel) was not very nice because he was an hour late to the reading. I am a stickler for time so I was very upset, but I didn't say anything because I didn't know him. Also, he was an established actor and I was absolutely new and I didn't know if I can say anything. But later when I got to know him he was a gem of a person. I later also got to know that he had a genuine reason to get late, so it was easy to forgive him. Instantly after that, we clicked, we developed a friendship. I remember a week after the shoot got over he told me he really likes me and wants to marry me. And I got the shock of my life because I didn't know him much, so I told him 'Listen, buddy, I will need time to know you' and he was like, 'Take your time'. He was very clear about his thoughts and I took about two years to figure it out. And after a point, we both wanted to get married.

'Lockdown wedding'

So we met each other parents. And just when we decide to get married, the pandemic hit the world, bringing everything to a standstill. So we decided to postpone the wedding to next year, thinking that everything will settle by then. But this year we got hit harder and we didn't know what to do. Then we both decided to keep it very simple. It was not safe for anybody to travel and celebrate our wedding. Our parents were in Delhi and Pune and we did not want to take the risk. So we asked everybody to stay wherever they were and we organised a zoom call for everyone so they could see the wedding in the court. We had three witnesses who were vaccinated by then. We decided to go ahead with the wedding because we had decided to start our lives together.