It took a lot for Parineeti Chopra to finally realise her dream of singing live at a concert. The actress, who has sung songs like Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahi (Meri Pyaari Bindu) and Teri Mitti (Kesari), finally made her live performance debut in Mumbai recently. In an interview with us, she says, “It was the culmination of 25 years of thoughts, dreams and planning that led to this moment.”

The actor-singer’s upcoming film Chamkila with Diljit Dosanjh, which will be released on an OTT platform later this year, has multiple songs sung by her.

She says, “One of the main reasons I did this film was because I was getting to sing some 15 songs for it. It was during this film that my co-star Diljit heard me sing and told me to pursue live performances. Everyone around me used to constantly put this thought in my head that I could be on stage.”

Not just the industry folks, but closer to home, even her husband Raghav Chadha encouraged her to sing live. “Raghav has known me for only some time, yet he suggested that I should do live shows. He told me that I should have done this five years ago. Before I went on stage for my first performance, I was jittery. But, when you sing that first word, you forget where you are, and you get in your element,” she says.

Ask her about handling two careers, acting and singing, when she has started a new chapter of her personal life, and she says, “This pattern should break. This is not how life is. Now that I am married, it doesn’t mean that I have to slow down. I wish people would not put everyone in that slot. Different people have different marriages, relationships and life. Some people work even on the day they are getting married. In our case, I am an actor, while he is a politician. We both live in different cities. So, it’s a different kind of marriage. Our marriage doesn’t affect work and work doesn’t affect our marriage. Everything has to go hand-in-hand. It is one life which has all these departments in it and all of them are simultaneously running.”

Talking about focusing on two different aspects of her career, she says, “I want to pursue two careers at the same time. It is an exciting challenge to take. I will work hard. I am getting into the skin of a musician and learning more about the world of concerts. I don’t want to ruin it by overthinking. I am just going to juggle it. Personally, I have a different mindset from other actors. All these things are just a part of my life and not my entire life. My family, friends, holidays, scuba diving, music, husband, career and health are all important and equal in my life.”