It has been almost two years since Saumya Tandon aka Anita Vibhuti Narayan Sharma of Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai! quit the show and the actress says that since then, she has got a chance to do things she missed doing while being a part of a daily soap. “I am pretty relaxed right now. After doing 15-16 years of work in this industry, I have worked in long formats, done shows back-to-back, and gone through this grind. Now there is no desire to be seen every day on screen, but there’s a desire to up my game. I am quite liking this phase right now because for five-and-a-half-years I was with Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai and there was absolutely no time to do anything. It was very exhausting. Then the pandemic happened and I decided to concentrate on my health, and I travelled. Right now, I am travelling, anchoring for various events and chat shows, and trying out different formats. These short formats are a nice break for me because I was not doing it as much,” says the actress, who was recently in Delhi for two days for a shoot.

The actress says that she was warned about quitting the show, which was one of the most successful TV shows at that time, and her character was widely popular. However, she doesn’t regret her decision. “I don’t miss that show. I keep in touch with everybody from the show because we are like family now. ”

Saumya says, “Aasif Sheikh ji, the director and writer of Bhabi Ji.., we still meet once a month or so and have those mehfils of song and poetry over which we all bonded. But I don’t miss doing Bhabi Ji... because I think I had done my bit.”

She adds, “It is a better strategy to take risks and leave the tried and tested, and try new things. If you are ambitious and restless for good work, it becomes a little stifling after a bit to keep repeating yourself. There was a point when I realised that I had done everything I could have done in that show. I thought that if I continue, I would be doing it for money and fame, and that is not right for an artiste. I have come here to improve and explore. When I decided to quit the show, everyone told me that this was going to be very risky – because what I am trying to get, that may or may not happen, and then I would lose what I have now. I was in a successful position as the show was a hit, and the character was very popular. But I thought it is risky to not take risks. I have never been scared or insecure. If you have to stay in this game for long, you need to adapt and reinvent yourself.”

Saumya has been travelling for events and anchoring projects and she says she is up for signing a new project, most likely on an OTT platform. “I will sign up for something soon, maybe in the OTT space. There are a lot of offers, but nothing has really excited me much. When the role is good, the platform is not great, and when the platform is great then they are giving me a small part. I am just waiting for the right project. I also have been wanting to get into content production. It is still in its initial stages,” she shares.

Saumya played a small role in Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met in the initial days of her career, but she says that is not the kind of role she would take up now. “I think if I would get a role like Roop (in Jab We Met) now, I would not take it up. These small roles keep coming to me and I keep saying no. I really liked the director and the film, so I said yes and it is one of my favourite films, but right now, it is important for me to do a part which suits me as an actor. I can’t do a blink-and-miss role only because it is a superstar film. Now that I am experienced, I am way more assertive and confident,” says Saumya.

Not many would know that Saumya studied in Delhi, and used to stay with her sister in Alaknanda and now her in-laws are in Delhi, too. Coming to Delhi every time brings back a lot of memories for her. This time, she was shooting in Gurgaon for two days.

She couldn’t take out enough time to spend in Delhi, but she says she is looking forward to doing a street food trail in Delhi, the next time she is here. “I had so much fun shooting in Gurgaon, even though it was so hot and shooting in such extreme weather conditions was quite a challenge. I was working with a team from Delhi and they were so warm,” she says.

Reminiscing about her college days in Delhi, the actress says that the city will always be special to her because she met her life partner here. “I met my life partner (Saurabh Devendra Singh) in Delhi. He was from IIT Delhi, his IIT Delhi roommate was dating my best friend, and he had come to meet us in our campus, and that was the first time I met him. Later, he left Delhi and went to IIM Ahmedabad. When my mother fell sick he came to see her, and we went to Dilli Haat for dinner and had momos and fruit beer – that was the first time I had a dating experience.”

Saumya adds, “I would love to go on a street food trail in Delhi. I think you get the best Indian food here. In college, we hardly used to have money to go to restaurants, so whenever someone would get good grades, we would get a treat at Tanku Ka Dhaba (in Qutub Institutional Area). Also, Delhi is the best place to shop – be it for home decor, clothes or silver jewellery, which is one of my favourite things to shop whenever I am here.”