If there’s one name that has made a mark in both TV and films, it has to be Surveen Chawla’s. The actress has successfully established herself in the acting world through her hard work and talent.
While Chawla may be enjoying all the stardom now, however, things were not the same when she started back in early 2000, of course. At the beginning of her career, she had to struggle a lot to get films. This journey has not been so easy for her.
Recalling past incidences, Chawla has once again talked about the casting couch in the South.
Chawla in a recent conversation with RJ Siddhartha Kannan said, “This was actually my first film meeting in Bombay that I went for. So, I was doing television and then I went for this first meeting. You know it’s their job to kind of get you in the space where you question yourself. And this happens to most women also where their appearance is questioned, their weight is questioned, what is your waist size is questioned, what is your chest size is questioned.”
She added, “It’s just insane. What are the parameters for being here? What are they? It was a period where it, alongside all the casting couch that went on with it and then a lot from the south (film industry) actually and it was quite a difficult period…It was there but I don’t think those are not the right parameters that define you or make you believe or disbelieve on where you want to be or where you are at.”
This isn’t the first time that Chawla has raised her voice against the casting couch. Earlier while speaking on the casting couch in South, she had said, “There was a big director in South, a National Award-winning director. I had a very long audition. I had to do different things like – Saying a monologue or something abruptly.”
She said, “I was a little sick and had returned after the audition. Then the director suddenly told me to come to Mumbai. I found it very scary and I said ‘No, thank you’.
Surveen added, “That director could only speak Tamil. He made someone else talk to me on the phone. That person told me ‘Sir wants to know you closely. This will only go on till the film gets completed.”
In a response to that, Surveen said, “I told him that you are knocking on the wrong door. If sir thinks that I am not talented then I am not ready to work in his film. After that, that film also didn’t happen.”
When Surveen was asked by Siddharth Kannan why she had not made her marriage public. To this Surveen said, “My husband avoids the media. He likes to keep his personal life private. He doesn’t like being in limelight. That was the reason why I kept my wedding secret. We were married in the presence of 40 people.”
Surveen got married in 2015 and revealed the news in 2017.
On the work front, Surveen will soon be seen in the web series ‘Decoupled’. She is currently busy promoting it. Actor R Madhavan will be seen along with her in the series. The trailer of this series has been very much liked by the audience. ‘Decoupled ‘ is set to release on Netflix on December 17.