By Akshay Acharya

Mumbai, Feb 21 (IANS): Being an artiste is all about making the right choices at the right time with an appetite for risk and a penchant for thrill that comes with uncertainty.

For actress Himanee Bhatia, who has impressed the audience with her work in the comedy series 'Decoupled' and the thriller short 'Blink', the opportunity came knocking at her door when the world was undergoing a paradigm shift triggered by the pandemic.

Himanee, who earlier worked with one of the world's top four audit firms KPMG in the capacity of a legal and risk consultant, found her calling in 2019 when she decided to make a switch to her childhood passion of acting. The actress took the risk and moved to Mumbai to pursue her dream of acting. Soon after the pandemic followed but she didn't budge.

Instead, she tackled a large volume of work during the period. One thing led to another and eventually she was cast for a role in the R. Madhavan and Surveen Chawla-starrer 'Decoupled', a role that put her in the spotlight. Recently she was feted with Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award in the Best Actress category for her work in 'Blink' and also Best Actress award in OTT at Aarvee Entertainment Iconic Achievers Award.

The actress, who will be next seen in the upcoming comedy series 'Eternally Confused and Eager for Love', recently spoke with IANS about her journey so far, her aspirations, her biggest strength as an actor and the profession of acting.

Recollecting the time when she shifted to Mumbai surrounded by the vast sea of uncertainty, she says, "The post-pandemic era was the part where my career majorly started. The initial 4 to 5 months were about getting used to another city (she hails from Delhi). It was like a warm up period and I would say that it was a very great phase with a fair share of setbacks."

She adds, "Like last year I remember I was replaced on so many projects after some contracts were signed but now the tables have turned and now instead of replacements I have 3 more offers. I am just happy that I am sailing through."

Determination is born out of passion and small but definitive steps that eventually lay the framework for the route to success, as Himanee says, "The desire for acting never really left. Even during my KPMG days I would take up some modelling assignments or I used to do theatre in Delhi. That love for acting was always present."

Pointing out the moment that changed the course for her, she recollects, "What changed was I did a film called 'Act Normal' which was more like a passion project which was a short film about mental health. It was so much liked on YouTube that I remember a lot of filmmakers reached out to me."

Revealing her biggest motivation, she adds, "I realized that as an artist you can make an impact on somebody so I think that was my biggest motivation. I remember that on my day of promotion I quit my job and here I am."

Sharing how 'Decoupled' was offered to her, she says, "I was very new in my career. It happened in early 2020, at that time I had just started acting and I remember there were no in-person auditions. All these were self-test auditions and it took two rounds of auditions.

Talking about her biggest strength as an actor, she shares, "My biggest strength is that I am very emotional. People think that being emotional is a sign of weakness but the fact that I'm emotional and I still have that kid in me, who has got that emotional side allows me to not be afraid to take risks."

Ask her as to what she is chasing as an actor and she quips, "Before I even became a full-fledged actor, I realized that it is an ongoing journey and not a final destination. For me I am constantly making it by making a difference in somebody else's life."

"It is the constant impact that I am making in my audience's life and that is something which is my goal as an artist", she signs off.