Samyukta Singh :Times were hard to deal with but I always held my head up high

Samyukta Singh :Times were hard to deal with but I always held my head up high

* Reporter

        Celebrities are often associated with a lavish lifestyle. But, people often fail to see the other side of their life, the fact that they are much like us and the spotlight on them all the time are not always easy to handle. In fact, some of them also go through some personal crisis, including financial crunch, but cannot talk about it in the fear of getting judged. Actor turned professional Samyukta Singh shares her opinion on the topic.

 
      "I will be lying if I say, ‘No, I haven’t gone through financial crunches or problems in my life.’ Of course I have, but thankfully I have always been a balanced person. When Salaami was a hit, I didn’t let it go to my head. So that’s why when suddenly I was not working, it didn’t crush me. When I wanted to get married, I got married. When I got divorced, I still picked up my socks and said to myself ‘I’ll work’. I worked forever and when my ship sank that catastrophe happened, it was the worst patch but I gave it time to heal. Financial problems have been there and were very bad, but I'm the kind of person who will live on my means without complaining about it. So honestly, if I’m going through a bad patch, which I have gone through more than once.  Those times were hard to deal with but I always held my head up high and I never begged anyone for anything and I lived within my means like my father. He was a very simple man and at the end of the day I am a very simple person at heart,” she says.
 
    With family and other responsibilities to take care of, a financial crunch can also take a toll on mental health. Samyukta answers in affirmative.
 
  “Yes, it can put you in depression and especially if you're not the type to cheat anybody or won’t do anything for money, and want to own it the right way, then you don't really have anybody supporting you. Luckily for us, we grew up in a very padded house as children, but once we grew up, we all became independent. None of us ever wanted to put a load on our family. So we were all doing everything on our own. And that too takes a toll on you. There was a time when we thought we would have to leave this city and move somewhere because we were in such a bad situation. But luckily, as a family, we all came out of it together, we all prayed a lot and we all got out of it” she adds.
 
  There is always a pressure to live up to the public image. Samyukta dealt with it too, mostly during the initial years of her life in showbiz.
    “When I was acting, I was very young. I didn’t understand the public image, or PR so much. So that today when I see it’s so disappointing that my name is no where, even on Disney Hot Star where my movie is, my name is not there on the starring, or on YouTube either. Probably because I was so young. I didn't know how to promote myself as I was just 13.  I didn’t understand the seriousness of brand management, limelight etc.  And then, I just gave it up. By the time I grew up enough to understand anything, I  gave up acting. Now, with hospitality, it's a very different game. You’re not constantly in the media or in the public eye. When you meet the guests that come to your restaurant or when you host a party, or when you have a press event, you meet them only then so that is pretty easy to cope with. So I am always well dressed and well groomed. It's not about being image conscious but that's just the way I'm in my sensibility,” she says.