Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; December 18, 2018)

Six months after her last show Chandrakanta - Ek Mayavi Prem Gaatha, Madhurima Tuli is all set to join the cast of another supernatural fantasy show, Qayamat Ki Raat. She will be seen playing a chudail post the reincarnation track. The actress says, “I would rather take up a fantasy drama than a typical daily soap. I want to play different characters. Also, a daily soap has to excite me, as it’s too long a commitment. I like fantasy because of its grandeur; it’s like a fairy tale and like every child, I, too, have grown up watching and reading fairy tales.”

Tell her how supernatural shows featuring daayans and chudails are considered regressive and she explains, “I agree that they are regressive, but they highlight the existence of negative and positive energies. More importantly, the supernatural genre is extremely popular. They have taken over daily soaps, which reflects the fact that the audience is bored of family dramas.”

Madhurima quit her TV show Kumkum Bhagya for the film, Baby (2015). Ask her why that didn’t materialise into more work in cinema and she replies, “I was offered a couple of films, but they didn’t pique my interest; one of them was a three-heroine project. Instead, I preferred to do Chandrakanta, on which I played the titular role. Baby was a big break, but unfortunately, it didn’t give me the mileage I was expecting from it. Now, looking back, I feel that it wasn’t the right time for me to enter films. I should have been more mature, focused and responsible; there was no one to guide me. I left Kumkum Bhagya for the film, though there was still a lot to explore as Tanu on the show.”

On the personal front, Madhurima and Vishal Aditya Singh, her co-actor on Chandrakanta, called off their relationship two months ago. She says, “Some things are not meant to be. Our first break-up happened two months after we started dating. It was always an on-again-off-again relationship. The last time we broke up, Vishal called my mother to convince me to give it another chance. I did because I, too, was missing him and there was a lot of love. However, a relationship works only when there is respect for each other; otherwise, it just limps. There seemed no point in being together, as the respect was missing. It took me time, but I am over it now and I am happy about it.”

Ask her about falling in love again and she replies, “I am scared of falling in love, I don’t think about it anymore. As of now, I am focussed on work. Love, for me, is strength, understanding and letting each other be. Most importantly, you should feel at home when you are with your partner. I have never thought about what my ideal man would be, but I know the traits that I don’t want in my man.”