Television actress Donal Bisht recently opened up about the challenges TV actors face when trying to transition into films. In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, the actress revealed that she had once auditioned multiple times for Aamir Khan’s film Laal Singh Chaddha.
While she was eventually not selected for the project, Donal shared how the experience became a turning point in her career. She admitted that being shortlisted for such a big film initially gave her hope that bigger opportunities would follow, but reality turned out to be very different.
Talking about the incident, Donal revealed that she was doing a television show when she received the call to audition for the Aamir Khan-starrer. “What happened with me is that I was doing my last TV show when the casting director called me and told me that I had to give an audition for a very big film. One of the biggest films — it was Laal Singh Chaddha. So I got the audition, and they auditioned me four or five times. I was doing TV at that time, and I think Aamir Khan Productions is a production house that truly believes talent is talent. They know which actor goes well with the character they have written.”
Being shortlisted gave her hope
Donal said that being considered for such a big project itself felt like a milestone and gave her hope for her future in films. “People around me were telling me at that time to decide what I really wanted to do in life. When everyone around you is saying something, you don’t always believe it. But when the right people tell you something, you start thinking about it seriously. Though I was not a part of Laal Singh Chaddha eventually, getting selected for such a big project itself is a big landmark in anyone’s life. You see a ray of hope that even such big people in the industry are looking at you.”
However, Donal admitted that things did not change the way she had imagined after being approached for such a big film. “That was the time when I felt that I should give films a try. I also thought that since I had done a lot of TV and big shows, things would become easier for me once I got shortlisted for such a big project. But that did not happen. That was when reality actually hit me.”
Experience pushed her to work on her craft
The actress also spoke about how the experience made her reflect deeply on her craft and motivated her to work harder. “Maybe I was not brushed up enough. Maybe I had not learned enough about the craft. I feel that way sometimes — maybe I missed out because I was not good enough as an actor. Whatever the reason may be, whether I was not suitable for the character or something else, I took it upon myself that I want to learn more. If 100 people are auditioning, I want to be the first one. Not the top five — I want to be the top one. I was always getting selected in the top three or top five by directors, but I kept thinking — why not the first one in films? Whereas in TV or web projects, I was getting those opportunities. That was the moment when I realised that maybe I need to work more. Maybe I am missing something in my craft. So for the next two years, I learned every single day. When I worked on myself, those were my golden years. Now let’s see where life goes and what happens. Fingers crossed.”
