The regular television viewer would have spotted her either as a reporter in the Galaxy chocolate ad in which she waits to interview Arjun Rampal, or as an actor in teleseries 24 or Ghar Aaja Pardesi . But for someone who doesn’t watch TV, it may have been tough to spot this Brit beauty. So when the director of Khamoshiyan , Karan Darra, was diagnosed with dengue, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Sapna.
“Karan hardly watches television but it was when he was admitted to the hospital that he happened to catch an episode of 24. Soon, I was part of Khamoshiyan . So, I’m glad he got dengue,” she laughs.
Born and raised in an “orthodox” Punjabi family in Britain, cinema was hardly a career option for Sapna. She’s more fluent in Punjabi than in Hindi or English, which she felt could be another obstacle. So stardom, as she says, was limited to “dancing in front of the mirror”. But it was a chance trip to Mumbai that changed it all.
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“I’d usually come to India on some specific work. Instead, this trip opened the doors to acting and television and this led to my role in
In Khamoshiyan scheduled to hit the screens this week (January 30), she plays Meera, a mysterious innkeeper in Kashmir. While newcomers opt for lighter, more positive roles, she felt the complex characterisation fascinated her more. “The character’s grey shades make it all the more exciting. Meera has a mysterious persona that is hard to predict and this goes on to affect the lives of two men. The role is challenging but truly a debutante’s dream,” she smiles.