Tina Datta became a household name when she made her appearance in the daily soap, Uttaran. While she began her acting career as a child artiste, it was in 2009 that she finally managed to make her mark. After playing diverse roles throughout her career, the actor will now showcase her real self on Bigg Boss 16. As she mentally prepares herself to live away from family with strangers for 90 days, Dutta talks about her prep, her hope of finding love, and choosing her battles wisely.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

No one can fake through their journey inside the house. Even if you pretend to be someone else for a month, after that, you cannot hide the real you because cameras are rolling 24x7. I’m not going inside the house with the notion that I’ll win by being Sati Savitri. Bigg Boss is a show that [showcases] your personality, and I want to show it to my audience and fans. They already love me for the person I am.

An actor’s life is an open book. There is nothing about me that the audience doesn’t already know. Everything has already come out in the media. I don’t fear that if I do this show, controversial things about my life will be revealed, because there is nothing controversial. However, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life. That could be motivating for people from small towns who are struggling to be actors.

There isn’t one definite way to win the show. Sidharth Shukla didn’t do much in the kitchen, but still won the season. It’s the graph [of your journey in the house] and whether the audience likes your personality [that determines your run]. This is a mind game that depends on how you are projecting yourself.

I am open-minded about it. Often, the audiences feel that [the contestants] are faking their love on the show. But eventually, after they get out of the house, they are still together. It proves that they were never faking it. When you are with someone 24x7, everything happens in fast forward mode. What a person learns about another in a month [in real life], you understand that in a week in the house.

If they find me a nice guy in the house, why not? I don’t know who [else] is participating, but definitely send in a guy [laughs]. Since I am not dating anyone, I doubt I can get married in the house.

That depends on the situation. If the situation calls for it, I will immediately react to it. That said, I also believe some battles don’t need to be fought. When there is a need, I put my foot down. I hope to be the same on the show.

I will take all my comfortable outfits that I normally wear at home. Not everything is going to be designer wear. I am also taking photo frames of my family and fur babies.

I would rather have that unfold on the show. I don’t want to show all my cards right here.