I am now game for doing challenging roles on TV - Meghna Naidu

Meghna Naidu, known for her ‘oomph factor’ in the popular music video ‘Kaliyon Ka Chaman’ is presently living the life of Maria Susairaj, the culprit in the infamous Neeraj Grover murder case, produced by Flying Turtle Films’ episodic being shot for Life OK’s Savdhan India – India Fights Back. Meghna who has done quite a few movies down South, both in Tamil and Telugu is today excited about the prospects of television and wishes to be seen more on the small screen. In an exclusive conversation with Tellychakkar.com, Meghna spoke about her stint on TV, her future goals and aspirations when it comes to being seen on the small screen. Excerpts: Welcome to television. How is the feeling of being part of the medium? Aah, I feel nice. I have been getting offers for television at regular intervals. However, I had never given it a thought as I felt TV was time consuming. Sakett Saawhney and Shabbir Ahluiwalia are close friends, and when they narrated the story in Savdhan India, I simply fell in love with the script. I would say, I am part of a brilliant story on television. We hear that Sakett and Shabbir had to do a lot of convincing before you agreed to take up this Savdhan India project? Yes, they have been chasing me for a while now. When we met initially, they asked me to give it a serious thought. I was then at a phase when I wanted to do TV, but never mustered the courage to accept any role that came my way. The ice actually broke a few weeks back when Shabbir and Sakett narrated the Neeraj Grover story that they were making for Savdhan India. Since it was an episodic, I wanted to take it up and thus get an idea on how the medium of TV works. I must tell you, I really enjoyed being part of this story. Television makes you a better actor and I have realized it. It is very easy for TV actors to do movies, but it is tough for a movie actor to migrate and do well on TV. On the whole, I would say that I made a very good decision shooting for this episode. I personally think it is one of the best stories of Savdhan India. So what are the kinds of roles that you have been offered on TV? I have been getting calls from various TV channels to take up main lead roles. As I told you, I felt it was a big risk getting into TV. But after enjoying the whole process of shooting this episode, I am glad that I have come out of my comfort zone and felt comfortable too. I am now prepared to do something on TV. Television is a great platform as everyone watches it from their own living rooms. I am now game for doing challenging roles on TV. And the roles that you are looking for in TV? The biggest challenge for me is to move out of my ‘hot’ and ‘item number’ tag and portray a different character. Having said this, I have never tried to shed away from being the glam girl. People have not seen me in a sitcom as a good girl or bahu of the house. And I feel playing one will be more relatable to the audience. I have heard people telling me that I am a good actor (laughs). And now I would want to push my envelope further. My initial reluctance on doing TV was because I felt that I would not be paid well. But after getting a very good pay cheque for my Savdhan India episode, I feel it is not bad at all to try for convincing roles. So what are the goals ahead? I am presently excited about my Savdhan India story. I have put in my best, and have emoted to the depth without a drop of glycerine. My movies down South have made me a specialist in crying. I would now want to get a great experience by acting in TV. Working in TV is a different ball game altogether and has quite a lot of emotions attached. I would want to show the audience that I can do different things. Taking up Savdhan India is one of the best decisions in my life. I personally watch the show and am a huge fan of it. So me doing something that I really love seeing is exciting. Would you mind going grey on TV? Not at all. As long as I get to portray challenging roles and show my performing skills, I am fine with going grey. What about reality shows? Well, I have already been part of Khatron Ke Khiladi and Dancing Queen. I would love to do a dance show, like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa as I excel in dancing, and it is my first love. Are you game to enter the Bigg Boss house? Aah, that’s a tricky situation. If they offer me good money, I don’t mind (smiles). As of now, it is a mixed feeling. While I ask myself why would anyone go into that house, I also have a thought running that you tend to get so famous by doing the show. To tell you frankly, I was offered Bigg Boss for two consecutive years. In the first year, my answer was a complete ‘no’. The second year, I felt that I was not ready for it yet. You never know, I might just fit into the scheme of things now. And are you ready to take up the stress of shooting for 12-15 hours nonstop for TV? I was indeed skeptical about that initially. When I was doing Savdhan India, I wondered how the entire unit works for such long hours. I have realized that everyone around is working non-stop. And I am also a hard working person, and would not mind working hard if given a chance. Tell us about your memorable experience while shooting for Savdhan? It has to be the first day of shoot wherein all was so crazy for me. I had to shoot emotional scenes, intense crime scenes and thanks to my experience down South I was able to do well. In South, things are not that easy-paced as in Bollywood. They want a degree of perfection and want it in quick time. And for me the challenge was to speak my lines in a different language, cry, emote, laugh on screen and I have pulled it off pretty well. So the South experience helped me to deliver well. So are you starting to bag offers in TV? I have already gotten the feelers that people are keen to take me in TV projects. Yes, the word is already spread outside that I enjoyed what I was doing in Savdhan India. I am waiting for something good to come my way so that I can get going on TV.