Ready for another show

Popular actor-host Mona Singh talks about her foray into television and the new edition of Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega

Talking to Mona Singh is like catching up with an old friend. She’s cheerful, warm and giggly. And perhaps all that mirth and humour make her an apt host for the show Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega .

The fifth edition of the reality show has Anu Malik and Farah Khan as judges and Krushna Abhishek as Mona’s co-host.

So, what is about the show that makes her come back to it every year? “The title of the show says it all. The funniest and weirdest of people are invited to showcase their talent. It has funny moments, emotional moments and even boo moments when contestants have been booed off the stage,” she says in a phone interview.

Currently the team is shooting twice a week for the show. “It’s crazy fun on the sets. Anu Malik is so good with his shayari and Farah is a natural. The entire team shoots and then we all have chai together and there’s home-cooked food...it’s like a big family,” she adds.

It’s her 11th year in the television industry and Mona recalls the experience of how it was before she became a part of the television fraternity in Mumbai. “I was living in Pune. I used to come by bus to Mumbai and give around 10-15 auditions and take a bus back home.” The actor only had Plan A and that was acting and there was always a niggling worry — will the industry accept? When Mona got the role of Jassi in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi , her first project, she was a tad sceptical about how her character looked. “I remember calling my father and telling him about the role. And he said, ‘Don't worry beta, it’ll either be a hit or a flop’,” she laughs.

Not just soaps, the actor has also been part of the film

3 Idiots . And like Aamir Khan, her co-star in the film, Mona too has a principle, that of acting in only one project at a time. “That’s because I want to give my 100 per cent to what I am doing.”

Challenging and inspiring roles are what get her attention and Mona has just finished shooting for a political satire titled Z Plus with Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi. “After my last television project Kya Hua Tera Vadaa I took a few months off of to rejuvenate myself. I holidayed in Australia and went sky diving, scuba diving...and I also joined a baking class...I am now a decent baker; and I have lost about five kgs.” How exactly does one lose weight despite baking goodies, we ask? “Simple, you keep feeding others,” she laughs.

( Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega airs on Sony TV Monday to Thursday at 9 p.m.)