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Says Saumya Tandon, who we last saw in Jab We Met. Currently hosting a show, the actress feels that there is a dearth of creative ideas on TV
Saumya Tandon, host of Dance India Dance on Zee TV, but better recognised as Kareena’s sister Roop in the B’wood flick Jab We Met, has a love-hate relationship with Delhi. Saumya, who did her MBA in marketing from here, says that the one thing that she particularly doesn’t like about the city is the auto-rickshawwalas. “Yes, I used to be really scared. Travelling in an auto, especially at nights, was such a task. I remember I always asked some decent-looking man to accompany me to the main road. But then, asking men for a favour every day was a bit too much. Mumbai is far better that way – the auto guys at least listen to you. But I had a rocking time with my friends in college and that makes me love Delhi,” she says. This student of marketing chose to act – was that what she really wanted to do? “I always had a strong academic record. But a corporate job was never on my agenda. I was not ready for a 9 to 5 job. I found acting creative and that’s why chose it as a career,” she says.
Currently hosting a show on the telly, Saumya feels that there is a dearth of creative ideas in the Indian television industry. “Why do you think all those saas-bahu sagas have gone off air? People have just grown so bored of all of them. We need more innovative stuff on the telly,” she says. If she were a reality show contestant, would she have gone back to Shahid and Kareena to ask them to woo the audiences on her behalf ? This is exactly what Shilpa Shukla (Bindiya Naik in Chak De!) recently did when she asked Shah Rukh Khan to request the audience to vote for her. “I am happy for Shilpa but I wouldn’t have done something like that. I wouldn’t have ever contacted Kareena or Shahid. I share a professional relationship with both of them. Though we had a great time on the sets of Jab We Met, I would have felt uncomfortable asking them for a favour.” Elections are here too. Does she have a message for young voters? “Be a part of the system if you want to clean it. Don’t be a coward and do not blame the politicians,” says she.