Karishma Tanna made her showbiz debut with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi back in 2001 and followed it up with Naagin, Qayaamat Ki Raat and later a role in the Rajkumar Hirani directorial Sanju. After a two decade-long stint in the entertainment industry, Karishma who felt she wasn’t “getting” what she deserves despite her best efforts, transitioned to OTT with Hush Hush in 2022.

She says her latest OTT outing has been “worth all the wait. I am thankful to Hansal Mehta for believing in me and bringing out the best in me.” Excerpts from a chat:

I’m an extrovert but have always been tight-lipped about my work. I never tell my family about my rejections. I never did any networking, never attended award functions all these years. I focused on having my work do all the talking. There are highs and lows in everyone's life, not just actors. The lows make you strong. Experiencing the lows means when you have the highs, you enjoy them. I’ve had my lows, but never lost hope. Sometimes I still feel like I have just arrived.

We shot our jail sequences (of Scoop) at Nyay Mandir (old court premise) in Vadodara. The entire cast and crew enjoyed staying and working there. Some of our finest supporting actors for the jail scenes were from Vadodara. We gorged on the most delectable Gujarati food during the entire schedule.

Actors prefer doing OTT projects as they help you enjoy the creative process without sticking to a set format. Plus, OTT shows often have pathbreaking concepts which help you evolve as an artiste. Since OTT isn’t time-consuming, actors can strike a balance between personal and professional space. OTT has offered a fantastic platform to actors from various mediums (films, theatre or television) and languages and has been a game-changer for so many actors.

Television has been like home to me, whatever I have achieved so far in my career is because of it. I have enjoyed playing different characters and doing different formats (fiction and reality) on the small screen. I am aware of the popularity and reach of TV, but I had to take a break from TV, so that I could expand my horizons. My stint on TV is not over, I haven’t quit the medium. But if I were to do a TV show at this stage of my career, it would have to be something mind-blowing.

Being a Gujarati, it will be a homecoming of sorts for me to do a film in my mother tongue. I have been hearing many good things about the Gujarati film industry and I’d love to do a Gujarati project if I am offered a good script. The lines between regional and the Hindi film industries are blurring, and all that matters is a good story and relatable content. If you have a great concept, the world is your platform now.