Eyeing the stars

Ever since the JVG washing powder commercial happened to her in 1996, Shruti Ulfat has been a permanent fixture on the television screen. Not just in ads — she has nearly 40 campaigns to her credit — but also in serials, soaps, sitcoms and several episodes of Rishtey, X-Zone, Saturday Suspense and Ajeeb Dastan. But she has not confined herself to television. She has done guest appearances in Dil To Pagal Hai and Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan and has also played the romantic lead in Sar Aankhon Par. Though television and modelling, she assures will continue, she harbours the dream of making it big on the silver screen, on her own terms.

Her story has all the trappings of a struggler’s script — of a small town girl harbouring big dreams. Born and brought up in Dehradun, she was a good student, a good sportsperson and a go-getter in life. In college she did a little bit of theatre and ramp modelling. It was her interest in theatre that brought her close to Alok Ulfat who then used to conduct theatre workshops for college students in Dehradun.

Together they staged a play called Prithvi on environmental issues. What impressed Alok was Shruti’s spontaneity, vibrant personality and grasp of the medium. A few months later they got married.

There were no big dreams then and no desire to work in serials and films. “I wanted to live life the way I wanted and was content to be a good housewife,” she remembers. While she was in Dehradun, Alok was in Delhi, teaching acting at the National School of Drama. What brought the duo to Mumbai was an old bike that Alok had to reclaim and sell off in this city. “So we came here for a short holiday and from here we wanted to go to Goa,” she recollects.

It was Alok’s friend Archana Puran Singh who suggested that they stay in Mumbai and do theatre and television. But it didn’t work out and the couple went to Delhi where Alok got to direct a road show for TVI and Shruti, thanks to Siddharth Basu, got to do the JVG commercial. “Initially I was reluctant but I did the ad and it turned out to be great fun,” she enthuses. “And it gave me lot of confidence and I also learnt little bit of technicalities.”

But post-JVG commercial, Shruti and Alok went back to their hometown. It was there that Alok made Shruti realise her potential as an actress.

“Being a pampered child I was a little introvert and Alok said I should go to a big place, open up, meet people and discover myself. He said that he’s there to support me in every way,” recounts Shruti. So against the wishes of his family, Alok brought Shruti to Mumbai three and half years ago.

Life in this megapolis was tough. Sharing a small one-room place, her bedroom was the balcony, it was a far cry from what she had been used to — the open space of Dehradun and the huge mansion that she called home. “That was the phase of little work, less money and there were bouts of bankruptcy,” she confesses. She didn’t know how to make career moves and she had no Godfather. Worse, she was married.

A visit to the office of Neha-MAD films yielded no result because “I was married.” The duality of the film world really baffled her. While she was rejected by Neha-MAD films because of her marital status, Pooja Bhatt signed her for a film but the film was never made. Instead Tanuja Chandra signed her on for a serial called Mumkin that was aired on Home TV. Then came the Johnson & Johnson’s No more tears campaign and slowly things started looking up for Shruti. As her modelling career took off in a big way, offers for TV shows also started coming her way. She did nearly 50 episodes of the sitcom Main Anadi Tu Anadi, played a college girl entangled in a love triangle in Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, did Farooq Masudi’s Chattan and several episodes of Rishtey, X Zone, Saturday Suspense, Anhonee, Bhanwar and Ajeeb Dastan.

Then out of the blue, she got the offer to play the romantic lead in Viveck Vaswani’s Sar Ankhon Par. The makers of the film didn’t ask her for her portfolio, neither did they ask for her marriage certificate. She was screen-tested, found perfect for the role and signed overnight. “But they asked me to change my name to Anoushka and I felt miserable,” she reveals. “It was my mother-in-law who put things in perspective and I agreed to change my name though I still do not see any sense in changing one’s name.” In Sar Aankhon Par she played a small-town girl who comes to Mumbai to make it big in Bollywood. The role required her to do comedy and serious scenes and Shruti says it was a great experience. “My performance was also appreciated,” she smiles.

Once she became a recognised face on television, Shruti says several offers for serials came her way but she thumbed them down because she wanted to get into films. Around that time Sar Aankhon Par also happened. However, she had done two pilots, one of which has started being telecast on Sony. Telecast on Mondays at 8.30 p.m, I Love You, according to Shruti, is a light, warm and natural comedy where she plays a Punjabi girl married to a Maharashtrian boy. The second pilot she has done is a love triangle called Tumhara Intezaar which is scheduled to go on air soon. Recently she has shot for one more pilot Haadsa.

Shruti avers that she is comfortable at comedy but very good in intense and dramatic performances. “I have a vast range,” she says, “and I have a mobile face which can suit any character of any age.”

To complement her mobile face she has a flexible personality which can look simple, glamorous, gorgeous and sexy. “And I can act, I can perform,” she says confidently. Which is why, she feels, she is cut out for films.

But she is not in a hurry. “I want to do a lot of good films but in a good manner,” she says seriously.

“I am not in a rush. I want to be a star but I want to go through the process of becoming a star. I do not want fame at the cost of everything.” So if she has to pay a heavy price for stardom then she doesn’t want it because even without stardom it is possible to celebrate life.

A.L. Chougule