My journey from Indian Idol to Koi Aane Ko Hai

A page from the personal diary of Antara Mitra It feels nice and strange at the same time when I think of how I got my first acting break. Specially when I think of the fact that I had never acted in my life. Even in school dramas which everyone does I never played the lead role. I always used to play some character roles in those dramas. I consider myself really lucky to have got an opportunity to act in a horror show like Koi Aane Ko Hai produced by Balaji. I am from a small village in West Bengal called Maslandapur and always had a keen interest in music. My father was my inspiration for considering a career in music and I came to Mumbai to participate in Indian Idol in 2006. Though I could not win the contest, I came within the top five contestants. That inspired me to stay back in Mumbai and try to establish my career. My positive attitude helped me do that. While I was improving my singing skills and learning new things, my friend Vikas Gupta who works with Balaji telefilms suddenly called me for an audition. As luck would have it, my mother was very unwell at that point in time and was in the hospital. There was no way I could attend the audition. I was a bit sad, but was happy that I could take care of my mother. Luckily my father also came to stay with us for some time during that time and my mother got well soon. Luckily for me, Balaji called me again for an audition. I was very nervous since I had never acted before. But on that day itself, I qualified in the look test and auditions and by evening I was conveyed the good news! Later on I heard that Ekta Kapoor liked my audition and selected me personally. It was a very proud moment for me. But that was just the beginning. The most difficult part was when I had to act during the actual shooting! Everyone in my family was tense since they had no idea of how I would perform. But somehow I managed, though I am far from perfect. My unit were happy with my performance. There have been some media reports on me quitting singing and joining acting. That is completely untrue. Koi Aane Ko Hai was a very good opportunity that came my way. It was just 15 days work and since it came at a time when I did not have too many shows at hand, I took it up. I am still very much into singing. I recently sang the chartbuster song Koel Kuke kuke from Life Partner and I have also sung the title song of All The Best for Bipasha Basu. I am still in touch with my Indian Idol friends and we meet and hang out every now and then. I feel all of us are at a very crucial juncture of our careers where every decision we take is important. So I will continue to focus on my singing career, but if I get good opportunities for acting, I will take it up as well! Koel Kuke kuke from Life Partner, All The Best, Bipasha Basu, Indian Idol, Ekta Kapoor, Koi Aane To Hai, Koi Aane Ko Hai produced by Balaji, Vikas gupta, Balaji telefilms, Antara Mitra, a small village in West Bengal called Maslandapur