Shweta Tripathi has had a stellar journey in the entertainment business. From starting out with Disney India to moving on and leaving her mark in advertisements and now venturing into cinema with some terrific movies under her belt (the likes of Masaan and Haraamkhor and Gone Kesh), she seems to be in no mood to slow down.
She has since also been a part of some path-breaking web-series like Amazon Prime’s Made In Heaven and Mirzapur.
The better news? We got a chance to interview Shweta and document it for you folks!
So without further ado, let’s dive into the exclusive Friendly Fridays interview the woman herself, the ever-so-gracious and incredibly talented Shweta Tripathi:
ED Team: “So, Shweta. We’re going to start this off fairly easily. From being a Disney India starlet to being a full time actor, how would you describe your journey in 3 words?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Oh, I’m probably going to need a lot more than merely 3 words, haha! Well, let me think. Okay, so I believe that it’s always a different and more fulfilling experience when kids watch you on the screen as compared to adults.
The other day, I was at the airport and this girl came to me an told me that she had grown up watching me on TV. And that’s the sort of assurance you have with young fans who have watched your work so that whatever you do now and in the future, they’ll watch all your projects that’s a really good feeling.”
ED Team: “Amazing. So coming to your movies, you’ve worked with the likes of Sanjay Mishra, Richa Chadha and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Tell us one unique thing which you learned from them.”
Shweta Tripathi: “Well, it’d be quite a task to differentiate them but the one thing common between all the 3 is that even though they’re the masters of what they do, they’re always humble, down to earth and willing to constantly learn and explore.
Working with Richa, Nawaz or Sanjay, I never felt like an inferior person. They always made me feel like an equal and never once asserted that they have a higher stature than me. That’s a striking quality in all the 3 people you’ve mentioned.”
ED Team: “Serious questions aside, tell us the funniest or craziest fan story you’ve ever had.”
Shweta Tripathi: “Oh, quite a lot, actually. Marriage proposals are common, I’d say. Secondly, a lot of people coming and telling me that they’ve grown up watching me just makes me feel quite old, haha.”
ED Team: “Haha. Well, it just goes to show how you’ve been rocking it, regardless of the age factor. Speaking of which, you’ve advertised a lot of products throughout your career. How would you advertise yourself and what would be your tag line?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Oh, I believe I’d use the description which is on my Instagram handle. It simply says, “Smile Spreader” and that’s something I want to be, a person who can make people smile everywhere she goes. Growing up, I was always asked what I wanted to be, etc. and down the line, I just realized that I want to be happy. It was always a priority to be happy and content and it still is, for me.”
ED Team: “Amazing. This brings me to my next question about your childhood. So, you’ve been in the limelight since a long time. How did your parents first react when you had the ‘I want to be an actor’ discussion?”
Shweta Tripathi: “When I told my father that I wanted to be an actor, his reaction was fairly simple. I remember he was drying out some clothes on the rooftop and we were in Delhi. I went up to him and told him that I wished to be an actor. He simply said that if it’s your choice, you have to learn and master your craft. You can’t be casual or passive about it.
That’s why I feel it’s extremely important as to how parents react to kids and what kids listen to when they’re growing up. And that’s why workshops are so important for me and I love them.
There’s also a difference in my upbringing since we never really had any connections in the movie industry, with my dad being an IAS officer and my mother being a teacher and that’s why working hard, honing the craft and taking it seriously was something I had to do.”
ED Team: “That’s great to hear and it’s nice to see how you’re still ambitious to learn. This brings me to my next question. Being an actress, what’s the dream character you’d have loved to play?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Well, keeping gender aside, I’d have loved to play Ranbir Kappor’s part in Rockstar and Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s part in Gangs Of Wasseypur. Although when it comes to female roles, I believe Alia Bhatt is making some fantastic choices in terms of her movies and I’d have loved to play her character in Raazi.”
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ED Team: “Great choices, there! So, Shweta. When life gives you lemons, what do you do?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Okay, here’s a little context: So in school days, I had these 2 good friends. The 3 of us in the school bus used to sit together. One of us brought lemons, one of us brought salt I guess and one of us brought a spoon and we literally used to squeeze the lemon into the spoon, mix it with the salt and have it, haha. That was our way of getting Vitamin C.
So in short, I’d say that you can either have nimbu paani or just have the lemons like I used to and enjoy them!”
ED Team: “What a story, that one! Haha. But what if life gave you actual lemons, such as putting you in a position where you can form your own political party, what would you name your party?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Hmmm! Interesting. I’d probably call it Battata Wada Party, haha!”
ED Team: “Haha! I’m really sorry to interrupt you Shweta, but I’d definitely love to know the reason behind that name since your Twitter handle is also @battatawada. What’s the story behind it?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Sure, but let me just say that I would love to come up with an interesting story but there actually isn’t much to it. The thing is, Shweta is a really common username in India and when making an e-mail account or social media handle, I couldn’t get the name Shweta without making any combinations with numbers, etc.
So, I thought why not go with @battatawada? Plus, there was this guy in a theater workshop that I remember from quite a few years ago whose email was something along the lines of “Dal Fry”-something @hotmail.com. So, I thought if he can get dal fry, I can make one account with battata wada. Haha.”
ED Team: “Haha, amazing! Moving on to the next question, if you had to change one thing about Indian TV shows and movies, what’d it be?”
Shweta Tripathi: “I think I’d like to take them to what they were, shows like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Office Office, etc. and you know, essentially showing movies and shows which promote equality and inspire women. There are plenty of shows on web portals like Amazon and Netflix and it’s about time that we think of our audiences as people who aren’t dumb and give them shows with good content.”
ED Team: “Just a few more questions to go! If you had to describe your life by a song, what song would you choose?”
Shweta Tripathi: “I believe that’d be “Just Enjoy The Show” by Lenka.”
ED Team: “Interesting! And if you’re given an Oscar award, who are you thanking in your acceptance speech?”
Shweta Tripathi: “I’ll be definitely thanking my boyfriend and soon-to-be-husband. he has been extremely supportive of me and I share practically everything with him. Secondly, I’d definitely thank the director of the movie. No long speeches for me, since I’ll probably be busy dancing in joy for getting the Oscar, haha!”
ED Team: “That’s great! So lastly, how about a message for the readers of ED Times and your fans out there?”
Shweta Tripathi: “Always believe in something which is heartfelt, trust your instincts but also, listen to your head. Don’t be fickle and indecisive. Play it smart. Sure, there can be an 80-20 ratio between listening to your heart and head but always try and achieve a balance between the two. That goes a long way.”
Annnnnd that about wraps it up! We’d like to thank Shweta for this amazing interview and we hope you liked reading it as well.
Feel free to share who you’d like us to interview next, in the comments!
Image Credits: Google Images
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