Sargun Mehta: I have swept KMC auditorium

Sargun Mehta has carved a niche for herself in both the small screen space as well as the Punjabi film industry

Sargun Mehta has carved a niche for herself in both the small screen space as well as the Punjabi film industry. But, not many know that the artiste’s first brush with acting was, in fact, in #SaddiDilli — she was a part of The Players, the theatre society at her Alma mater, Kirori Mal College (KMC), Delhi University. During her theatre days, the actor says she has done everything from sweeping the floor to lifting props, and more.

During her theatre days, the actor says she has done everything from sweeping the floor to lifting props, and more.

She recalls, “The first year of doing theatre was absolute torture, and I felt like I can’t do so much work. KMC not only teaches you how to act, they actually go down to the basics. We’ve even swept the auditorium. They never used to have anybody else [for that]. They used to say, ‘If this is the place where we are rehearsing, you have got to sweep it, clean it’.”

The actor, who has been a part of the hit Punjabi movie franchise Qismat and the recently-released film Saunkan Saunkane, among others, also shares that their teacher, Keval Arora, who is the man behind The Players, would always encourage everyone to be self-sufficient, and not once did he differentiate between the male and female members of the society. “He (Arora) used to say, ‘Do everything that men are doing’. We were never spared of having to say that, ‘Okay, if we were to pick up props, men are going to do it’. He would always say, ‘You can do it, it’s just that you’re not pushing yourself enough’... I learned a lot, and it (her experiences) opened my mind about things where I was very close-minded. That’s what theatre does to you. It teaches you a lot about what moral compass really is. The first year was very tough. The second year, I started to enjoy it. And in the third year, I made acting my life,” says Mehta.

Ask if she would want to revisit theatre and she says: “I would love to be part of a play. I used to love doing plays, the energy on stage is unbelievable.”

As someone who has lived DU life, one can’t help but ask about Mehta’s favourite hangout spots on campus. “When I was in college, we would only hang out in canteens. I had friends from all colleges, so we’d discuss, ‘Aaj kiske yahan lunch karna hai? Hindu [College], KMC or Stephen’s?’ Everybody knew St. Stephen’s [College] had the best cheese noodles, Ramjas [College] had the best keema bhaji. There was also rajma chawal at KMC. And you can’t miss tandoori momos!” she smiles.

Author Tweets @Nainaarora8

Follow more on Facebook and Twitter

.