By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, Jul 2 (IANS): She grabbed eyeballs with her acting and beauty in Mira Nair's web series "The Suitable Boy" and there has been no looking back. From being selected as one of the participants of BAFTA Breakthrough India to bagging roles in Santosh Sivan's "Mumbaikar", the upcoming OTT anthology "Feels Like Ishq" and the web series "Chutzpah", Tanya Maniktala has a lot on her platter.
The actress, however, surprises you saying that she almost decided to give up acting at one point, after her debut show "Flames".
"It feels surreal to me because I never anticipated anything to happen really. So, at this stage of my career, BAFTA Breakthrough India is happening and I am getting selected as one of the 10 participants where I will get a chance to interact with and be mentored by international experts -- it is kind of too much for me to sync with! I feel fortunate and I think I believe in miracles more," she told IANS.
Tanya made her acting debut with the web series "Flames" when she was still in college, and after the release of the show she thought everyone would flood her with offers and she would become a Bollywood star.
"I am from Delhi, with no understanding of how the business of entertainment works. So, I thought doing one show would give me series of work, films etc. I was really naive. I went on giving audition and started facing rejection," she recalled.
"That is when I started doubting myself and thought of giving up acting. I think for any budding actor or artiste, self-doubt could be a huge issue that could break all confidence and conviction. You feel like your dream is broken. People could be harsh on your face when they reject you in an audition and I am not complaining, but I am saying I was young, naive, still in college and not ready for it," shared the actress.
For some time, she focused on studying, took a job as a copywriter in an ad agency and gave up on her dream to make it big in acting.
"I will be thankful to my friend who pushed me to go for the audition of 'The Suitable Boy' and initially after the audition I did not expect to get a selection call. Rather I geared up to go to Melbourne for higher studies. Fifteen days before I was to leave for Melbourne, I was told that Mira (Nair) di wants to take a final audition and she was coming to Delhi," said Tanya.
"Eventually, I got the part and Mira di helped me build the confidence I lost due to all the rejection I faced before. She made me believe if I have faith in myself, if I have a dream and work on it, there is no way I would not achieve it. The only thing was, I would have to trust the process. The problem is we tend to give up in the process. You see, I almost gave up and took up a job and went off for higher study. But then, Mira di happened, a miracle happened," she signed off.