Jhanak Shukla started her acting career with a bang, playing the role of adorable Gia Kapur in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Kal Ho Naa Ho (2013). She followed it up with a successful stint on TV show Karishma Kaa Karishma, which earned her much fame as the cute humanoid robot.

Indeed, Shukla reveals her popularity during childhood days didn’t affect her normal life. “My parents and people around me didn’t make me feel any different. School mein bhi koi mujhe sar pe chadha ke nahin rakhta tha. I was treated like a normal child. I used to participate in plays and did side roles in them,” says the 25-year-old, who admits to have enjoyed her life as an actor.

“The best part about acting was that I got to travel to different places and meet people. That is something you get to experience much later in life. Mujhe woh sab bachpan mein mila. The exposure was amazing. I also remember I used to get pampered a lot on sets. I’ll say it was a regular life, but with a twist. There was never a dull moment,” she recalls.

But it has been a while now since Shukla has been away from both the silver screen as well as TV. “I count Kal Ho Naa Ho and Karishma Kaa Karishma as my official acting roles. After that I did many advertisements, a film called Deadline in 2006 and also a stint on an episode in TV show Gumrah. I remember I told my mum (Supriya Shukla, actor) that I wanted to do it and she helped audition for the role. But I was in class 10 back then,” she shares.

So, if not acting, what has kept her busy? Shukla reveals that over time academics and entrepreneurship found a place in her heart and she felt more inclined to be engrossed in books than face the camera. “My parents told me that I had to finish my studies first. They said that I needed to be well prepared before getting into acting as an adult. I was told aise hi nahin ghuss jaana hai agar career banana hai toh. I was told to finish graduation and then take up acting. But, by that time, I had developed a strong love for history. Acting ka shauk hai, but I chose history over acting. I then did my masters in archaeology and was supposed to go abroad for further studies, but the pandemic hit,” rues Shukla.

Presently, she is pursuing her MBA and running a lifestyle portal. “Studies never go waste. If I am educated enough, I’ll be able to take more informed decisions,” she says, adding that she has big plans for her future and acting also features in it. “I want to do a lot of things... I also want to open a café, but uske liye mujhe paise chahiye. I want to do so much and that is both a good and bad thing. I keep trying new things,” she concludes.