An IPS officer and most dutiful bahu

There are very few actresses — read none — on TV who get to portray a dutiful bahu and an IPS officer in a single show. But that’s what Deepika Singh, aka Sandhya, will be doing, come 2014, on her Star Plus serial, 'Diya Aur Baati Hum'.

As Sandhya, Deepika has seen nationwide success with her very first show. And to think that acting in a soap wasn’t even part of her plans!

“I was studying for an MBA and never thought that I’d be an actor. No one in my family has ever done that… we’re a ‘business family’. I was handling my father’s business and alongside that, dabbled in a bit of theatre, did a few ads. Then the auditions for 'Diya Aur Baati Hum' happened, for which I came to Mumbai from Delhi,” she recounts.

“I didn’t know anything about lighting or camera techniques or style when I joined TV,” she says. “Theatre and TV are such different mediums. Apart from the acting, for a single scene on TV, we give three to four takes.”

Adapting to the new medium also meant putting in long hours at work. “When I first started shooting, I’d sleep for only three to four hours a day. But I am happy that all the work, the struggle has borne fruit,” she says.

Deepika has many wishes for 2014: To give 100 per cent to her work (the new track that’ll see Sandhya immerse herself in the rigorous physical training required to be an IPS officer); sign a show with her favourite actor Ram Kapoor, and think over the film offers.

What about love? “I haven’t thought much about it, but the person I settle down with has to respect me, my family and my career,” she says.