'Aise Toh Hona Hi Hai'

'When they took my name, I went numb.'
'Before I went on stage, my dress got caught in my shoe!'
'I said, stay calm.'
'Then I started walking and was like, okay, now think of what you're going to say, quickly!'

Bandish Bandits actor Shreya Chaudhry can't believe her luck.

Not only is she living her dream but she's also making it count.

She just won the IIFA award for Best Actress, her first win, and she's only getting started.

She tells Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff.com, "I feel like I have worked every day for moments like this."

Let's go back to that moment when you took that long walk on stage to collect your Best Actress award from Jaideep Ahlawat and Pratik Gandhi at IIFA. What was going on in your head?

For me, it was already such a big deal to be sitting in that audience, you know, and attending IIFA!

It was my first IIFA ever, and my first nomination as well.

That itself was a dream come true, plus to be amongst all these artists who I look up to.

Then when they took my name, I went numb. You won't believe it but before I went up onto that stage, my dress got caught in my shoe! So I was like, of course, aise toh hona hi hai (laughs)!

I gathered myself and said, stay calm.

Then I started walking and was like, okay, now think of what you're going to say, quickly!

You hadn't prepared a speech?

No! All of us actors, at some point in our lives, stand in our bathroom or in front of a mirror and act like we're getting an award and what we're going to say.

I've done that many times but at that moment, I had not prepared anything.

So during that long walk, I was actually preparing my speech.

It was a big deal to be on stage and be handed an award from Pratik sir and Jaideep sir because I am a big fan.

And that too a Best Actress award!

I feel like I have worked every day for moments like this.

You have dedicated the award to your mom. Her contribution must obviously be immense but can you elaborate?

My mother has always been that silent fire.

When I first told my parents that I wanted to be an actor, they were against it.

I remember having a conversation with them, asking them, please, let me do this, this is where I belong.

Since the day they said, okay, go live your dream, it has been my mother who has been my support system.

I can call her at any point when I'm feeling a little low or confused. She boosts my morale.

You can't compare ma ka pyaar with anything.

When I got the award -- my parents are not in town because my brother just had a baby -- when I told her that, Ma, I won an IIFA, it was just reminiscent of all the conversations and dreams we had woven together.

In my speech, I also dedicated the award to my niece and nephew because they are my lucky charms.

Your brother had twins?

No. His daughter was born during Bandish Bandits Season 1 and his son was born during Bandish Bandits Season 2, so they are definitely lucky for me.

Bandits Bandits gave your career a push but your presence gave the show a push just as much. Don't you think?

That's very kind of you to say.

But as an actor, I feel Bandish Bandits has given me a lot more than maybe I have given it.

I have tried my level best to do justice to the character. But to be with such a beautiful cast, and Anand (Tiwari) and Amrit (Amritpal Singh Bindra) are responsible for wherever I am in my career today.

Ritwik (Bhowmik) is not just a co-star, he's also a dear friend today. We started our careers together in a way, dreaming about things.

Are you a singer yourself?

No, I'm not. I'm a bathroom singer.

How much of Tamanna are you? Like, are you a biker?

Actually, no, I'm not a biker. I learned how to ride the bike for Bandish Bandits.

I don't know how much of Tamanna I am because sometimes as actors, you end up giving a bit of your personality to a character.

But I have learned a lot from Tamanna in season two. At a time when she's popular and successful, she says, no, I will go back (to music school) and get things right. I want to educate myself.

But it's not like she's this perfect or holier-than-thou person.

She's a real person. She makes mistakes. She's flawed.

There was this advice that Anand gave me. It's a quote from Javier Bardem: 'You have to be your character's best defence lawyer. So no matter what your character is doing, you have to believe in that 100 percent.'

But I don't know how similar we are.

You have a glamorous image in Bandish Bandits, where you play a singer. But in The Mehta Boys, you have a less glam role and play a solid girlfriend.

I was shooting Bandish Bandits when I was offered Mehta Boys. It was very exciting to play two different characters. They are both empowered women at their core but very different in their appearance, the way they talk and in the decisions they make.

In an Instagram post, there's a picture of an unrecognisable Shreya Chaudhry, where you are a plus size. How did you go from there to here?

I remember getting a message from a girl after Bandish Bandits Season 2, and she wrote she really connected with Tamanna's character, and it was a very long beautiful message. But at the end of it, she wrote that she can never be Tamanna because of the way she looked.

I never want anyone to feel like that, so I took the decision to write about my journey.

So I wrote about the struggles, health-wise, that I went through.

This was when I was in college and I used to be extremely overweight.

It was affecting my health to a point where a doctor said that the only way for me to get better is to lose weight. So it wasn't that I wanted to be an actor or look a particular way. It was because at that time, my health was so affected that the only way out was to lose weight.

What was your weight then?

I was 86 kilos.

So yeah, I was very big and it was unhealthy.

Slowly and steadily, I realised that this is a lifestyle and if you just give it a chance, it really embraces you. Today, it's a part of who I am.

I am a conscious eater. I love food but I prefer eating healthy.

I'm not very strict with myself. It's not like I don't have cheat days.

But I strike a balance because the feeling of being physically fit or feeling light on your feet is something that I will never take for granted because I have seen the other side of the spectrum as well.

How long did it take you to lose weight?

A good two years, I think.

Initially, my goal was to lose 10 to 15 kilos and that took about a year-and-a-half because I don't believe in crash diets. Those things don't work.

You have to be consistent with your approach no matter what it is, so that took a bit of time.

Then, I decided that I wanted to be an actor, I started a lot of classes like kickboxing classes, dance classes, weight training...

I fell in love with all of these things.

Even today, I love playing sports. I didn't play sports too much when I was growing up.

I love boxing and paddle ball. I'm absolutely addicted to paddle ball!

You have taken a picture with Hrithik Roshan. Did you know him?

No. I don't remember very clearly but I think his second film had come out and he was doing some sort of a promotion activity.

A family friend knew somebody from his team and we just requested him for a photograph. So it just happened by chance, it's not that I know him personally,

I've always been a very big fan of Hrithik sir but sadly, have never met him since that day.

What are your fitness rules?

I avoid sugar.

I avoid dairy because I'm intolerant to that.

I don't eat anything with preservatives on a normal day. But on cheat days, I'll have whatever I want.

I just feel you must do portion control, then you can maintain a balance.

Gigi Hadid said something really beautiful. She said, eat the salad to stay fit and eat the burger to stay sane.

So that justifies my approach as well.

And like I said, I'm a huge outdoor person and I love adventure sports.

I love weight training.

I love going to my dance class.

I love going on walks.

I play with my dog.

You have to put in a lot of hard work in this profession.

For instance, you may have to run in a scene, and there will be 30 takes of that, from all angles, dialogues etc, You have to be fit in order to do that. If you're unfit, you can't do a scene like that so many times.

What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

It's something my mother recently introduced in my life.

I drink haldi pani.

It's her recipe, and it has haldi, honey, pepper and cinnamon.

Even when I'm traveling for work, I carry these ingredients with me. So no matter where I am, I start my day with haldi pani.

Do you have a ritual at the end of your day?

Not really. But I try to eat whatever I'm eating at least an hour-and-a-half before I go to bed.