Donal Bisht is living her dream in her first major lead role on television, Ek Deewana Tha on Sony TV. She has had a long journey of struggle and every passing day has given her the learning that hard work eventually pays off.
Now with her show launching yesterday, the girl has mixed feelings, that of excitement and nervousness, that make her very nostalgic.
Says Donal in an exclusive chat with IndianWikiMedia.com, “I have worked really hard and have waited patiently for this day. I just can thank all those people who have supported me, encouraged me. Also, I owe thanks to my parents as they believed in me. Initially, coming to Mumbai was a dream. And now that I am into my first lead role, this is a bigger dream for me. I can now say that dreams can become reality with hard work.”
However, the journey to becoming Sharanya of Ek Deewana Tha came after a long waiting period for Donal. Not all know that she was the actress chosen to play the role of Ahilya Bai in RDP Productions’ show on Star Plus. However, the show did not take off and Donal came out of the project after a long wait. “Yes, I was made to wait for Ahilya Bai to take off. In that interim, I had become like Ahilya Bai. However, that did not materialize. It’s not only this project; I was offered a lot of shows in different genres. I used to audition a lot without wasting any second. Now I believe that no effort goes in vain. Everything is a learning curve to reach the place you want to reach. Whatever did not work out in my favour was not meant for me.”
Donal’s first show was Kalash, the Balaji Telefilms show on Life OK where she played the parallel lead. She was also the anchor of Doordarshan’s Chitrahaar at one point of time.
The one thing that surprises Donal is that she is part of a show with a supernatural element in it. “I never thought I would do such a show in my life. I have always been scared of horror shows. I have never watched a horror show alone. Now when I get to be part of this romantic thriller with a surpernatural twist, I get to know how this genre of work gets filmed.”
Talking about her Producer Prateek Sharma (LSD Films), Donal states, “Prateek was actually involved in Ahilya Bai in some way or the other. I never knew it. So when he asked me to meet up for this role, I got to know that he was very keen on me playing the role of Sharanya. He in fact saw Sharanya in me. And I believed his trust and confidence, and I am thankful to him for choosing me as Sharanya. I fell pampered in his presence.”
On the similarities between Sharanya and herself in real life, Donal quips, “We both are Bishts hailing from Uttarakhand. The story is from the hills and I too belong to the hills. Other than that, we both are very strong.”
On her supremely popular co-actors Vikram Singh Chauhan and Namik Paul, Donal avers, “They are so very popular. In fact, their fans go crazy on social media. The show has a good story to speak no doubt, but it is already the talk of the town with their fans going gaga about it on social media. I am privildeged to work with them. Both are polished, and already belong to the industry. So coming along with them is an honour.”
We wish you all the luck, Donal!!