Exclusive! Sneha Wagh: Despite the heat in Kolkata, I enjoyed jhalmuri, phuchka, and biryani

Television actress Sneha Wagh was in Kolkata recently. She, along with her colleagues of Neerja: Ek Nayi Pehchaan, shot at different corners of the city in tremendous heat. From Princep Ghat to Chau Babu Ghat, Kumartuli, and Barrackpore – the shooting team roamed across the area for the serial. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, the actress talked about Neerja, her love for her work, and how she takes care of her mental health. Read on…

Tell us about Neerja: Ek Nayi Pehchaan. How is it related to Kolkata?

Neerja is a mother-daughter story in which I play the mother. This woman belongs to the red-light area of Sonagachi. She had a lot of dreams but those got buried because she hails from that area. But she doesn’t want her daughter to live that reality. She wants her daughter to fulfill her dreams. Hence, we shot at the different parts of the city.

Kolkata was pretty warm. How did you manage?

You call it warm? It was terrible, terrible terrible. I have never experienced such heat in my life. I was struggling to keep my eyes open and felt like fainting in the heat. I was seating like a river. We ate only fruits, water, nimbu pani, tender coconut water, and so on. There were Met Office warnings of heat waves. The breeze was hot.

Despite that, we had to shoot here because the aesthetics of Kolkata cannot be recreated anywhere else. Everyone tried their best to keep calm. We used to wake up at 4 am and by 5:30 we used to reach the shooting spot. By 5:30 am, it is clear daylight here.

Did you manage to try any touristy things here?

I had a rickshaw ride in Barrackpore but did not take any photos. It was so hot that I did not even think of taking a photo. I had phuchka, jhalmuri and biryani.You just cannot avoid Kolkata food and I am a foodie. I tried a malpoa the other day and it was out of the world. I will have to try kanchagolla, besides the famous roshogolla and mishti doi (I already tried those). But we are on a tight schedule and I could not roam around outside of work though.

Currently, you are working on two serials together – in Neerja and Na Umra Ki Seema Ho. That must be hectic. How are you managing?

It is difficult. I finish one schedule and run to the other one. It is challenging no doubt. I have long working hours and even if there is an off day in one schedule, I work on that day anyway…

It must be taxing…

I don’t complain. I know TV works like that. You are in front of your audience six days a week. It is not like a film that you shoot for a month or so and then it gets over. A tight schedule is part and parcel of television work. But I love it. I am a workaholic. It feels amazing when I see the popularity television gives me. My characters are all loved by the viewers and I am known by the character names. I feel I am a part of their families. It is a special feeling.

Do you plan to work in OTT?

I am open about it. If I get a chance to and if I get something substantial, I will. But you see, OTT work is not like TV work that goes on. I love stability. I want something substantial and something that has stability to it.

Recently, your post on mental health went viral…

You see in today’s world, almost 90% of the people we know suffer from some mental health issues, like anxiety, stress, nervousness, and so on… It went up after the lockdown and the pandemic. I lost a very close person who died by suicide. She is not from the industry though. That shook me to the core. She kept all her anxiety and problems to herself. This was a wake-up call for me. I think creating awareness about talking to people about mental health and sharing problems and seeking help is supremely important. Every day, it is getting more and more difficult. Social media often does not help. It sometimes makes us vulnerable. Supposed I post a photo, another person may feel insecure about their life. Social media doesn’t give an overall picture of our life and we tend to forget that.

Also read: Sneha Wagh takes to social media to share an extremely IMPORTANT message about mental health 

How do you deal with your stress?

End of the day I am lucky to have my family to fall back to. In my family, if there is a problem, we seek help. We don’t keep it inside and let it bother us. If there is a problem, there will be a solution to it.