Mouni Roy goes back to mentor Ekta Kapoor

Mouni Roy, who has landed the lead role in Colors’ upcoming show Naagin, feels it stands apart from the work she has done so far. “I have a simple look on the show, very little make-up, not so much eye-shadow, I’m enjoying it. I play Shivanya, who is a simple, innocent character, a dreamer lost in her own thoughts. She is sincere, curious, naive and clumsy and she keeps getting into trouble.”

The show has a supernatural theme. We ask Mouni if she believes in such things and pat comes the reply, “I don’t believe in it. I’m a religious, spiritual person but if there is good in the world, there must be evil, too. When it comes to TV though, I love watching supernatural shows like The Vampire Dairies and other fantasy fiction.”

Mouni’s first show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, where she played Krishnatulsi, was under the Balaji banner and she is glad to be teaming up with Ekta Kapoor once again for Naagin. “Ekta is my mentor. I came to Mumbai from Delhi where I was studying. The Kyunki... experience helped me grow. I remember, at that time, Ekta had advised me to keep my performance as normal as possible, not over dramatic. She said don’t try too hard. She believes in conversational performance. She taught me to shed the baggage and let my performance flow like a river,” says the actress.

Questions about her personal life, especially about rumoured boyfriend Mohit Raina, are met with silence. Instead she enlightens us about how she spent her long break from television. “I’m always travelling. Even on holidays, I wake up early and by 7 am, I am out sightseeing. So whoever is travelling with me needs to keep up. I am also up till late in the night. And I also feel like another break to recover from that holiday.”

Now that she is continuously shooting for her show, she rues having little time for herself.

“I miss watching Bigg Boss — it’s my favourite show on Indian television.”