"I didnt wanted to be a laughing stock. So I stressed on an audition test," says Jyoti Madnani Singh

Jyoti Madnani Singh

Jyoti Madnani Singh, the costume designer behind the popular feature films like Rahasya, Santosh Sivans Mumbaikar and Mohanlals Barroz is busy helming the role of a Rajasthani daughter-in-law in the TV series Chamuri Ompa...Ek Prem Katha" premiered on Doordarshan National.

Q. Jyoti tell us more about your new acting assignment?

Jyoti: Well, this acting assignment happened by chance. The director of the series Chamuri Ompa...Ek Prem Katha, Mr. Ravikant and me, we wanted to collabarate on a project since long time. And when the opportunity arrived, he called me to design the costume of the series. In the meeting, he started to narrate the story to me and he particualrly emphasised on the character of Sunaina who is a fashion designer from a marwari Rajasthani family. She runs an art gallery-boutique in Agartala as her husband and her in-laws live there. The more he narrated the character, the more I felt that character is very much similar to me in reality. As he finished the meeting, I asked him jokingly if the character is inspired from me as I could very much relate to it. And he popped up the question asking why dont I act in it.

Q. Did you immediately say yes to the opportunity?

Jyoti: No, I didnt wanted to be a laughing stock. So I stressed on an audition test. The audition test gave me confidence as team unanimously liked my performance. So I said yes to acting and politely said no to the work of costume designer in the same project because I knew that my fellow actors on the set may have felt that I am selectively biased towards my look than the rest and it would have created mess in my life at the time when I was supposed to be much focussed.

Q. Is this your first foray in the world of acting?

Jyoti: No, I have done a few projects before this. I did a short film titled, To My Brother for a friend which has won several awards all across the world. It is available on MX Player. I also shot for a pilot for Salman Khan Productions for Star Network titled Gama Pehalwan directed by legendary Mr. Puneet Issar. But trust me, my intention was to be the costume designer on the project but somehow I landed up getting a role.

Q. Are you looking forward to more opportunities as an actor ahead?

Jyoti: (laughs) Well glamour is very tempting but I am always a costume designer first. I am a trained costume designer from National Institute Of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and it is my obligiation to continue imparting my services as ‘costume designer-Fashion Stylist' but yes if a good role comes then why not. I can continue pursuing acting as hobby as I do modelling for my own designer label JMS.

Q. Lastly, tell us a bit about your show Chamuri Ompa...Ek Prem Katha.

Jyoti: Its a love story in between a boy from Rajasthan living in Agartala and a local girl from a village of Tripura. Its a vision of our PM, Shri Narendra Modi Ji to bring the traditions-culture-stories of north-eastern part of India in Hindi for the Hindi speaking audience all acrosss India and abroad. The series has been extensively shot in Tripura. The series is also simulatenously live telecast on OTT platforms ‘Zee5' and ‘MX Player'.