When I was a student in London, I took up a lot of jobs to pay my way through university because my parents couldn't afford to bear the cost of my education. I worked at the boxoffice of London theatres like The Old Vic and the Barbican. I was also a waitress at a restaurant called Cafe Rouge. For a while, I also worked at the UGC Haymarket cinema, serving popcorn and selling tickets. Five years later, my film, That Girl In Yellow Boots, premiered at the same theatre. It was beautiful, the tables really turned for me. I was thrilled because a lot of my friends from back then were still working in the theatre and I could invite all of them to come watch my film.

I loved my time working at theatres and cinemas as I got to watch some incredible plays. It was one of the perks of the job. I had access to plays that other people couldn't get tickets for. I watched Pina Bausch's Kontakthof and Robert Lepage's The Dragon's Trilogy, for free. I also got to see a lot of independent, arty cinema rather than commercial films. It was a great (side) education for me.

One of the films screened while I was working there was the Scarlett Johansson-starrer Girl With The Pearl Earring. I watched her arrive for the premiere, a star on the red carpet, and a few years down the line, I got to do it myself. It was a 'wow' moment. I couldn't possibly forget who I used to be and the opportunities that have come my way.

While I was waitressing, I would earn a lot of money through tips because I looked a lot younger than my years. I looked 15 when I was actually 18-19 and everybody felt really sorry for me. I played along to get tipped well. The flip side was that balancing studies and a job was difficult.

London is an expensive city. I was always counting money and there were some days when I'd wonder if I should buy myself a cup of coffee as I had to set budgets every day depending on my daily earnings. It was a great way to learn budgeting and taxes.

I'd work till late night and returning home was pretty rough. The winters were really cold and I had to catch the night bus to make it back. At times, it would be a long wait till my bus arrived. I started smoking cigarettes mainly to keep warm in the London winter. I don't smoke anymore but at the time it was the only way to deal with the biting cold.