“Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari will always have a special place in my heart” – Mallika Chhabra

When Mallika Chhabra was in school, she joined the theatre club to make friends. Little did she know that this will lead her towards discovering her calling in life. Mallika recently made her debut in cinema with ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’. The Shashank Khaitan directed film, which featured Varun Dhawan, Jahnvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf in principal roles, had Mallika playing Nisha.

In this interview, Mallika talks about the experience of being a part of ‘Sunny Sanskaari Ki Tulsi Kumari, bond with co-actors, shooting in a resort in Udaipur, journey as an actor and more.

In an interview, you stated that you saw a lot of yourself in Nisha, the character you played in ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’.

When I read the script, I instantly felt that Nisha is an extension of me. In certain stories, you put some interesting characters in the middle of everything. That character gets a lot of attention. I think the audience really enjoyed the equation between Kuku, Bantu and Nisha. Shashank needed Nisha to have personality. People often say that you can either be attractive or funny. Through Nisha, I think we tried to break that perception. You don’t want characters to be one-dimensional. You want them to have layers. Just having that understanding helped me connect with Nisha.

The film had an ensemble cast. Did you get to bond with some of the actors?

All of us bonded very well with each other. We chronicled all those wonderful moments with the help of the pictures we took. Once the film came out, we started sharing these BTS moments on our social media accounts. In one of my recent posts on Instagram, I have mentioned how each of them have played an important role in making this experience enriching and memorable for me. ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ is my first film as an actor. So, these experiences will play a foundational role in my life. The film will always have a special place in my heart. All of them were extremely kind and supportive towards a new actor like me. Though I was the newest among the cast, I was never made to feel that way. There was no hierarchy on the set. Shashank would trust me as much as he would trust anybody else. There were moments when Varun would be on the set when he did not have to shoot. He would still be there to support his co-actors like me and provide feedback that would help us. It was a collaborative effort.

A large chunk of the film was shot in a resort in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Yes! I can’t begin to tell you how much fun that was. When I came back to Mumbai after the month-long schedule, I felt I was in a different world. We were in this contained world with the cast and crew of the film and the hotel hospitality staff. Whether it was eating, working out, shooting, hanging out, we were doing everything together. We were like a big, happy family. Shashank, his wife Nalini, Rohit and I would chant together. We were having so much fun. That’s why, I believe, it translated so well on the screen.

How did your journey as an actor begin?

I grew up in different parts of the world. My family is in Canada right now. I have been to thirteen or fourteen schools in my life. I was always the new kid on the block. Most schools abroad have these clubs which you can join. At one point, I joined the theatre and drama club with the sole purpose of making friends. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I arrived at the conclusion that if I had to make friends, I had to join one of these clubs. I ended up joining the theatre club. I got into the craft as I wanted to make friends. Then, I fell in love with the craft. In India, I have done workshops with the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research in Auroville, Tamil Nadu. I have done a few other workshops as well. You learn something new every day as an actor.

What are you doing next?

A few things are in the pipeline. However, I am not at the liberty to talk about them at the moment.