Tinaa Dattaa was just 18 years old when she started her acting journey with the popular television show Uttaran, which also made her a household name as Ichcha. And, since then there has been no looking back for the actress. And, now as she forays into the digital world, the actor says she is hungry to do more work and do good roles. With the Zee5 web series Naxalbari bringing in a lot of appreciation, here she opens up about her journey from television to OTT. Excerpts from the interview:
How do you look at your journey from Uttaran till now?
I am very happy with my journey — right from my debut TV show, Uttaran. People think she has done a successful show and feel must have been easy, but it wasn't a smooth ride for me. But I believe hard work pays. I chose to pick up work that I believed in — the right production house, content...worked in my favour.
How are you finding the OTT space?
It was a good transition. I always wanted to get into the web space. But it's not like I am saying goodbye to the television industry. TV will always be my first love and it will stay with me forever. I want to take up good characters. If I don't like something, and even if the budget is good enough, but it does not resonate with me, I will not do it.
Tinaa with Rajeev Khandelwal in Naxalbari |
TV actors are often looked down upon by Bollywood stars. What do react to that?
I feel TV actors have the strongest fan base, and get a lot of admiration and love. TV is a widespread industry and have fans all over the world. People from smallest to biggest cities are connected to their favourite TV shows and cheer for them.
Tell us about your character in Naxalbari.
I play the character of Ketki. She is today's girl and is very strong-headed, yet sweet. It was a pivotal role. They wanted a simple girl, and we maintained the look of girl-next-door for the entire series, so that the audience doesn’t know what’s in store for them till the end.
What has the pandemic taught you?
Pandemic has taught me to be grateful. I used to indulge in a lot of shopping, but during the lockdown I understood it was such a waste of money on things that were really not needed. I realised we should only indulge in whatever is necessary, and unnecessary spending money is not a good idea. I have learnt to spend money wisely now.
Your future projects?
I’m doing another web series, which I cannot talk about. We started shooting recently after the lockdown was a bit relaxed. And, I am busy shooting for a brand’s campaign too.
