From standing in long queue for auditions to multiple rejections, I have faced it all- Shamin Mannan

Telly World's Bhoomi aka Shamin Mannan is currently beaming with joy as her first Bollywood movie, Love Shagun, is all set to hit the big screen soon. The actress, who hails from Assam, considers it to be a difficult task to create a strong foothold in the glamour industry. But she also believes in sheer hardwork and strong perseverance to attain success. In a candid interaction, the actress opens up on her journey from being an Engineering dropout to her stint in television and her foray into films.

Tell us about your journey so far?

It has been quite a journey. I dropped out of engineering college and got on a train to Mumbai with nothing but a dream to make it big and since then there has been no looking back. I Started with television, My first show was Santaan on Star Plus as one of the leads. I did couple of shows on different channels. My last show was Sanskaar on Colors as the main lead girl Bhoomi. After that, I decided to take a break from Tv and try my luck in movies. I did couple of Ads and then Love Shagun happened where I am playing one of the leads.

You're making your film debut with Love Shagun, how does it feel?

Aaah.. It feels good. I think it’s a decent start for a girl like me who comes from Assam without any film background or any godfather. Love Shagun is a romantic comedy where I play the role of Shama who is a bar dancer yet innocent & simple girl in search of love. It was very difficult to portray a bar dancer with Mumbaiya lingo yet keeping my innocence and cuteness intact. I have worked hard to reach here and this is just a start. I still have a long way to go.

What's next?

I only believe in hard work and perseverance. That’s my only plan. Rest whatever happens will happen with the flow. Of course, I would love to do more films, but at the same time I am open to TV if anything good comes along. I love dancing so I would love to do a dance reality show in future.

TV to films, has it been a difficult or easy transition?

Obviously, it’s been a difficult transition. To get into movies, I had to shed all the baggage and start from the scrap. It’s like getting down from one peak to climb another from ground level. But then there is no fun if there are no challenges in life. In films, it doesn't matter how much work you have done on TV or how famous you are… All that matter is how talented you are. I have learnt to be patient during the process. Many a times I felt like giving up and  go back to doing TV shows as there were tempting offers coming my way but my love for films kept me going on.  

Do you enjoy tv more or films?

To be true, I enjoy films more because in a short span of time you get to live different characters with different films.. But both TV and films have their own pros and cons. TV gives you more exposure and financial stability. On the other hand, films give you work satisfaction in terms of creativity. Doing a film challenges the actor inside you in each and every scene...for me doing films is intoxicating, I crave for more and can’t wait to portray another role in another film soon.

Heard you're very careful about your fitness and food. Give us details?

Yeah you have heard right. I believe in maintaining good fitness with proper diet and exercise. I follow a balanced diet where I make sure I am consuming macro nutrients in all my meals. I eat mini meals every two hours instead of having one heavy meal. I am a foodie with a huge sweet tooth so it’s really difficult for me to turn away from yummy food so even if I have to cheat I make it a point not to overeat and keep it balanced by managing the portions. I don’t like going to the gym at all as I am not a routine person. So, I either go for long runs or indulge in different kinds of work outs like functional training or dance sessions.  I am really hard working so I give my best at maintaining a slim yet healthy body.

How difficult has it been coming from a smaller city to settle down in Mumbai?

The decision to drop out of engineering college to pursue my career in acting was the most difficult decision of my life. I come from Dibrugarh in Assam. Assamese people are known for their innocence and naiveness. So obviously, with this innocence and naiveness it wasn’t that easy to settle down in Mumbai and make a career in TV and film industry. It's a long story from facing financial crisis to parents opposing my career choice, I faced lots of challenges in Mumbai as I didn't know anybody here and I had no idea how to get work in Tv or films. There were times when I didn’t know how to apply makeup or had no idea of how to give my introduction in auditions. From standing in long queue for auditions to multiple rejections, I have faced it all. But I always believed in myself so I never gave up.. Somehow I only met good people who helped me some way or the other. I learned everything from camera angles to different kinds of shots etc. on the job for which my directors and co-actors have been extremely helpful in my initial days. Though I was naive yet I was a very strong headed and determined girl so I never got lost in this big mad city. It's been a great learning process till now.

What do you expect from this film?

Love Shagun is a fun and relatable film and my character Shama is a very interesting one. My director has appreciated my work so half of my job is done here. Shama was a difficult character to pull off but with my hard work I think I have managed to do justice to the role and I hope people will love my character along with the film and I expect this will give a decent start to my film career. Whatever be the outcome Love Shagun is my first film so it will always be special. Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience for me.

Love Shagun is a romantic comedy and releases on 26th February 2016. It has been directed by Saandesh Nayak.