Calendar Girls actor Ruhii Singh on her upcoming ALT Balaji show Bang Baang.
Ruhii Singh
After a memorable start in Madhur Bhandarkar's Calendar Girls, Ruhi Singh has charted her own in the industry. The actress has a bevy of projects in the pipeline, most notably ALT Balaji's Bang Bang. In a chat with mid-day, Singh spills the deets on the show, working with Ekta Kapoor and her take on nepotism as an 'outsider'. Excerpts:
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Ruhi Singh
1) How do you see OTT as a future for young actors like yourself?
Well, I think OTT is the future considering the time and age we are living in. A lot of people are interested in watching online content more than typical films or TV. Especially after the pandemic I think people are going to be a bit scared to go to the theatres. I think OTT is the future and people are really enjoying the platform. Also, OTT gives us a platform to explore world cinema and brings the world together I feel, because we can watch series and cinema from all over. It makes it really easy to explore different genres of filmmaking and different kinds of content and it is opening the world up I would say. Even as for knowledge it is creating various options of sharing content and ideas.
2) What made you say a yes for Bang Bang?
When I got selected for Bang Bang I was very excited because I love action, I have loved to watch action films, I am training myself in martial arts (Shaolin Kung-fu) and I am an outdoor-sy girl. So action comes very naturally to me, it is something that I have always wanted to do on screen. Also, I have grown up watching stuff like Xena - The Warrior Princess which was my favourite while growing up. Angelina Jolie is an absolute inspiration to me when it comes to body language and the way she is. That has literally been my dream character to play something like this, something action oriented. And secondly Ekta Kapoor ma'am is an incredible producer, also, I love working with female producers. It is a beautiful setting when women come together to do something. I am looking forward to working with such a big name and it is an honour for me.
Angelina Jolie
3) Can you tell us something about your role in the series?
What I can say about this series is that there is going to be a lot of action. It is a very well written character. And it is something that you have always wanted to do. If you love action, this is something that you are going to enjoy. It is going to be entertaining, it is going to be fun, a lot of twists and turns. One thing I can say is that it is something very different from what I have done before. I am really thrilled.
Ekta Kapoor
4) You were seen on Operation Cobra which was an action thriller like Bang Bang, do you see yourself as a female action star?
I don't know if I can say that, but I really enjoy doing action. And it is something that I am good at and I am proud of it. For me fitness has always been a way of life, martial arts and all the sports that I do are all a part of my lifestyle. I believe in eating healthy and leading a healthy life and being physically active and I believe in learning new skills. So I keep learning new forms of dance, new forms of fighting and so on. I am glad that I am getting opportunities to showcase all of that and somehow find a way to entertain my audience, and do what I love and call that work. So yea I am thoroughly enjoying where I am right now and I am really excited about Bang Bang. I think it is a dream project for me being strong, being powerful, being able to take control. I mean as a woman it makes me feel empowered doing this all. Infact, I would love to be a female action star one day. I think it's the best tag one could get as a woman because it breaks barriers and notions. It doesn't typecaste women. I think it's beautiful to be able to do action and to be physically and mentally fit, to be able to represent that side of you, which maybe not the stronger side but more in control. It will be great to be known as that someday.
5) Please tell us about your future projects.
So I feel quite excited, thrilled and honoured because I'm lucky to be working on very incredible projects, which is the kind of work that I always wanted to do . To be able to portray a different kind of character, do things that probably would not be expected of me. Very soon you'll be seeing me with Sanjay Mishra Sir. I'm really looking forward to that. I can't share much details about it but it's a comedy and a very fun character. There's another web series which I've done which is a thriller which will also be out soon, that's with Prateek Babbar. Looking forward to that. Hopefully very soon I'll be able to give you more details. I'd start shooting for Bang Baang. I've also just started my Youtube Channel and I'm so happy about the response that I've been getting, people are loving it. Even as a content creator I feel that I'm able to connect to my audience really well and they're really enjoying watching my content. It's such an incredible time to do everything and that's what I love about it, to do everything and being able to entertain and connect to my audience in various ways.
6) You were seen in a music video with Mr Faisu and you also starred with him in Bang Bang, have people loved your chemistry with him?
Well yes, I think so, which is why I think we're being cast again together. People like watching us together onscreen and I think Faisu is a really nice person so I really enjoyed doing the music video with him and I'm really looking forward to doing 'Bang Baang'. He's a very nice person, kind hearted and a good human being. People are really loving watching us together on screen. The chemistry basically comes from friendship so it's nice to be comfortable with your co-star, it makes your work a lot easier.
7) What is your take on the raging debate on nepotism?
I personally only believe one thing, which is minding my own business. I believe that everybody has their own path. I'm a complete outsider, I have no connections whatsoever to the industry, nobody from my family or my family friends are remotely in the glamour industry. I've made it on my own and I'm working really hard. All I've been doing basically is never ever giving up, just keep on working and improving myself and my skills, which is why I actually do so many things because the product that I have is me. All I can do is improve upon what I have and what I have to offer. Yes, being a complete outsider has been quite difficult because alot of time you don't have that advantage of knowing about the projects first hand, even getting an opportunity to audition for a lot of projects, we don't get to audition for many projects. But I'm not complaining, because I believe that if you want something, if you have a goal and desire while working hard, you will get it, just don't give up. Yes, some people have it easy, some people have it tough but "Rome wasn't built in a day". So when you're trying to build Rome, you have to be willing to work extra hard and give it your all, yes, it is going to be difficult but you know what, I'll never give up. I will work my hardest till my last breath to make all my dreams and goals come true, that's where my ambition. My Ambition basically drives me. I'm really lucky to have incredible support from parents, they really support me from wherever they're. They're in Jaipur right now, but they're always supportive. I'm super grateful for my family to motivate me, encourage me and be that rocket fuel that helps me to not give in spite hundreds of difficulties in my life.
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