Sayli Salunkhe, who is seen as Vedika in Sony TV’s Pukaar: Dil Se Dil Tak, which is produced by LSD Studios, enjoys the monsoons, but says that it becomes a challenge to shoot amidst rains.
She says, “The monsoon is indeed a challenge to handle, especially when shooting outdoors. When it starts raining, we have to pause the shoot. However, this gives us ample time to chat with co-actors on the set. I love talking and getting to know people. So, I spend this time talking to my co-actors, which I think is very valuable, especially as a lead artist.”
“When you are the lead, you are in almost every scene, sometimes all ten scenes of the day, leaving little time to talk to your co-stars. It’s important to get to know each other when you work together, but there’s hardly any chance off-set. These rain breaks become a fun time because, technically, we can’t do anything until the rain stops,” she adds.
She also stresses the fact that travelling in the monsoon is also tough, and the rains can increase the travel time because of Mumbai’s traffic. “Everyone knows how bad traffic gets with heavy rain, sometimes roads are closed, or there’s construction work. This often happens to us because our location is far away. Sometimes it takes 2–2.5 hours to reach the set. To pass the time, we download movies, or if our cars are nearby, we sit together in one car and chat,” she says.
Sayli looks for other hobbies to ease time during rain. Talking about one such hobby, the actress says, “I know how to solve a 3×3 Rubik’s cube, and now I’m trying a 4×4. I challenged Abhishek Nigam to solve it too, and he’s been practicing for some time now. It’s fun to see if he can do it.”
Monsoon’s choicest food for Sayli will be eating Maggi and popcorn.
“We have a lot of music jamming sessions where someone plays a song, and we all enjoy it. Instead of sitting in the makeup room, we often set up chairs outside and just listen to music, chat, and enjoy the rain. So yes, thanks to the monsoon, we have this fun time. I love it and am enjoying myself. I believe that if you don’t enjoy your work, you won’t be able to do it well. So, I think it’s important to enjoy your work because it shows in your performance and helps you do better,” she also states.