Love The Fact I Am Still Around: Actor Mona Singh On Her 20-Year Journey

One can't change the past, only celebrate it because of their choices and actor Mona Singh says she is just grateful for her career of 20 years, a journey she started with the superhit TV show "Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin", for giving her "these beautiful glory days".

That three of her web series -- Prime Video's "Made in Heaven" season two, "Kaala Paani" on Netflix, and SonyLIV's "Kafas" -- released to acclaim last year when she completed two decades in the industry made the milestone year "extra special".

Singh, who also has films such as "3 Idiots", "Laal Singh Chaddha", and the upcoming "Munjya" to her credit, said she is happy to play characters with different shades across mediums.

"The next step is always forward, the past is gone. You can't change it, you can celebrate it because of the choices that you have made. I'm very happy these 20 years in this industry have been so fruitful. The industry has been so giving and accepting. I love the fact I am still around and I'm now exploring OTT and films. 

"All the releases that I had last year just made 2023 extra special. All three were loved and what was even better was that all characters were so different from one another. I'm just so grateful about these beautiful glory days that I'm witnessing. It is true that good things come to those who wait," Singh told PTI in an interview. 

She's now having fun exploring the horror comedy genre with "Munjya", a film set in Pune and the Konkan region, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar.

"I am so happy about the fact that I'm getting to explore all different genres as an actor. This was a first for me and we shot in some very beautiful, pristine locations in the Konkan region. The script is amazing and so funny."

Rooted in Marathi folklore, "Munjya" follows the story of the eponymous mythical creature and how he wreaks havoc in the life of Bittu, played by Abhay Verma of "The Family Man" fame.

In the film, Singh plays Pummy, a single working mother who is overly protective of Bittu. The 42-year-old said she and Sarpotdar worked closely to add "more layers" to her character in "Munjya", which she described as a "sweet, family story". "She runs a salon, she's independent, fierce, and very possessive about her son. She doesn't want her son to go out and explore the world because she is possessive about him as a single mother."

Singh became one of the favourite faces on Indian television during heyday as the nerdy, dependable and erudite Jasmeet Walia aka Jassi in the early 2000s. She has fond memories of the show and also remembers feeling scared before her onscreen "makeover" in the much loved Sony TV show.

The Chandigarh-born actor said even her fans were "shocked" when her bespectacled Jassi got contact lenses and her braces and fringes went away. She was, however, happy that the makeover was shot organically.

"It was not like she transformed into a new person overnight. It was well shot. The fringes went away, she got the lenses then the braces went away. So it was gradual. I was also very nervous about my makeover. My first show was 'Jassi...' and I got to face the camera as 'Jassi' which was in a garb. So I was feeling somewhere very protected.

"But then when the channel announced that we have planned a makeover, suddenly, I was feeling all those butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know how people would take it. How am I going to be in front of the camera as myself because I'd never faced the camera as myself? All the nervousness that I had worked for the show and for the makeover," she recalled.

Six years after her first TV show, Singh headed towards the big screen and starred in 2009's superhit film "3 Idiots", directed by Rajkumar Hirani and headlined by Aamir Khan. She and Khan reunited for the 2022 movie "Laal Singh Chaddha", the official Hindi adaptation of the 1994 Hollywood hit "Forrest Gump".

Working with Khan in "Laal Singh Chaddha" was like a "life coming full circle" moment, she said. "It rarely happens with actors that you get to do two films with Aamir Khan because he's so selective about the kind of work he does and his movies come out once in three-four years. One really has to wait it out. And it's happened to me twice in my career. So I feel very lucky."

Their bond only deepened while working on "Laal Singh Chaddha", directed by Advait Chandan. "There is a special bond because we were together shooting for 'Laal Singh...' throughout the pandemic and all the changes we witnessed as actors and as people. That connection is so strong with Aamir sir that it's going to stay for a lifetime. I have immense love and respect for him as a person and as an artist on set," she added. 

Singh is also an avid traveller and a dreamer. The actor has been busy with work and promotions in the past two years and soon hopes to go on a getaway with her husband, filmmaker Shyam Rajagopalan. "I want to go deep sea diving again. That is also on my wish list. And work wise, I can't complain at all... I'm very excited about all my releases."

Singh will next be seen in web series "Paan Parda Zarda" from "Mirzapur" director Gurmmeet Singh and Prime Video's "Ma Ka Sum".

"Munjya", also starring Sharvari and Sathyaraj, hits the screens on Friday.