Getting candid with Seema Sajdeh

The actor recalled how the incident had made headlines, and says there is nothing about her life she would ever want to change, except that one incident. “Call it romantic or beautiful … whatever you want to say. But make no mistake it was a very traumatic time for many people in my life as well as for both of us. If someone told me if there is one thing I could change, it would be that, because it is not something I would ever do again, not for any other reason.”

Vikram Ahuja is into business and finance, and his only connection with the film fraternity is his sister Tanya’s husband, Bobby Deol. Seema sees it as serendipity. “It is so weird. The last person in my life I would reconnect with would be him. Our lives are so different, they don’t overlap, he is from a different world than mine, and here we are back again.”

In the show, Seema was seen taking her older son Nirvaan into confidence, asking if he was okay with her decision. The designer says she would not have it any other way.

“I am very candid with my kids. I would not have moved on after 24 years of marriage, without the support of both my boys, Nirvaan and Yohaan. Also I am no longer 20, every decision of mine will impact people around me, and I need to keep that in mind. My children are my responsibility and they need to be comfortable with my decision.”

She reveals she was unsure how she would connect with the audience in the current season. “I was going through a lot when we shot the season. I had moved homes after 25 years, I was vulnerable, I had also divulged a lot of private stuff, and you do open yourself to a lot of judgements, even more so as a single mother. But, I am glad my point of view came across the way it did. It also helps a lot with self-reflection.”

Calling the show a catharsis of sorts for all of them (Maheep Kapoor, Bhavna Panday and Neelam Kothari), Seema says each one of them has grown professionally as well as personally. She defends her friends, saying they were wrongly called bullies, given their reactions and small talk about fellow participant, Delhi-based art curator Shalini Passi. “My friends aren’t bullies. They were just reacting to situations. Also, I know Shalini personally and we saw an entirely different facet of her personality. She was unapologetic and owned her space. I wouldn’t have been able to do this myself.”

A fashion designer as well as the creative force behind whylabs.in, Seema reveals she has indeed found her voice as a designer, and could well be charting new territory — acting — in the future.

“My life is forever changing, and I love new experiences and taking risks, just diving into it. My label is now completely different from my aesthetics of the last 25 years. I decided to do streetwear inspired by my boys. Acting is not something I went looking for; it came to me not once but twice. I didn’t believe I could act, since I am not an actor. But during workshops, my teacher told me that maybe I should look into it seriously. I am working on something, hopefully, you will soon see me in a new avatar.”

If she were to have her own reality show, what would it be called? “How to thrive in chaos,” she says with a laugh.