EXCLUSIVE: Eisha Singh says it was a ‘surreal experience’ attending a film award show as a nominee

Eisha Singh is one of the most loved faces on Indian television. The actress has been a part of some successful shows like Ishq Subhan Allah and Sirf Tum. Recently, she stepped into the fantasy genre with the show Bekaboo. The show stars Eisha Singh and Shalin Bhanot in the lead.

In 2022, Eisha Singh also made her film debut with Middle Class Love, for which she recently received a nomination for Best Debut. The actress got in an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble where she opened up on that experience. Eisha Singh also spoke about Bekaboo, the success of Ishq Subhan Allah, bias against TV actors in films and more. Excerpts from the interview:

Bekaboo is like a storytelling of Beauty and The Beast. How is it living that fairy tale through this show?

“People keep comparing the show to Beauty And The Beast, but now that I am shooting it, I realise it’s not like that. It’s more like ‘pari and rakshas’. Fantasy is a genre that I am doing for the first time and it has been giving me butterflies. At the same time, I am extremely nervous as well. On a scale from 1-10, I am a 100.”

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Normally, you have a co-star to feed on the energy from. But in a fantasy show, you have to depend a lot on your imagination. How has that been for you?

“We are shooting on a green screen, and most of the things I have to imagine. But I really love it. It makes me so happy as I read books a lot, thus creating an environment in my mind is something I love doing. It is fun and something I have not done. It brings out a child-like excitement to go far away from reality.”

You got immense success from Ishq Subhan Allah. To get out of that zone, was that easy for you?

“I won’t say easy. I am always sceptical before signing a project. Even before I signed Ishq Subhan Allah, I was extremely unsure. I wasn’t sure if the audience would accept me. But they did that so beautifully and even today I am called Zara by them. I consider myself lucky that whatever I do, my audience accepts and loves me. It’s exciting to have the audience see me in different avatars.”

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When did you realise the extent of your popularity and fame for the first time?

“I think it was during Ishq Subhan Allah. While doing the show, I didn’t realise it was doing so well as I wasn’t stepping out much and meeting people. But I remember going to Juhu one day, and being the carefree person I am, I was roaming there. And there were about 40 people running behind me. I was with my mother and we got so scared. She called our car, we went in and there were 40 people surrounding our car. My cousin, who was also with us at the time, still remembers that incident.”

In 2022, you completed the trifecta of mediums. After having done TV and OTT, you delved into films with Middle Class Love. How was that experience and did it change your approach in any way?

“It was really nice. I actually was not expecting to be a part of that film but everything fell right in place. I am really thankful to my producers and Anubhav Sinha and Ratna Sinha ma’am. Since it was a college story, and we all are so young, it was so much fun. The whole experience was really lovely.

However, my approach towards work is still the same. Platform doesn’t matter to me. It’s about whether the project makes me nervous and feel the butterflies in my stomach or not. I have seen people tend to get confident after working in a field after a long time, thinking they can handle everything. I don’t feel that is the correct approach. The moment you feel nervous and the jitters, that is what makes the right choice for me.”

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While you were making the transition to films, did you face any bias against you considering you came from TV?

“Fortunately, both Anubhav sir and Ratna ma’am were really sweet to me. Even I, when I am doing any project, try not to think about what I have done in the past. I go with a clean canvas. What you are saying is right, you do get overexposed. But it might not be the right word for it as well as you are reaching households across nation. But I have never felt that they were looking down on me that ‘Oh, you are from TV’. There was no baggage about me coming from TV. And I am very proud of my roots.”

You received your first film nomination recently for your first film. Was that a little jittery for you?

“I was so excited. The moment they called me, I had tears in my eyes. It meant a lot just being there, let alone be nominated for my debut. Winning or not is a completely different story, but my name just being there was so exciting. At least they are considering you is such beautiful experience, that they are recognising your work.

To be around all those big superstars, people you have always seen there, and just being in that environment was a surreal experience. I remember when I was sitting there, Shahid Kapoor was performing in front of me and it felt so magical to witness that live performance. My heart was full of gratitude.”

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You are working with Shalin Bhanot for the first time through Bekaboo. How is that experience going and did you witness his journey on Bigg Boss 16?

“I actually did. Since I was not shooting at that time, I did follow a lot of this season of Bigg Boss. Working with Shalin has been really nice so far. He is a nice human being and a cooperative co-star. But we don’t discuss Bigg Boss at all during the shoot. I feel like he also needs a break from that as everyone has been asking about that. Right now, we both are just focusing on Bekaboo.”

Also Read: Middle-Class Love REVIEW: Prit Kamani, Kavya Thapar and Eisha Singh starrer showcases an easy-breezy college romance but offers nothing new