Pavitra Punia who recently got engaged to a US based businessman, regrets past sacrifices for love. “I’ve learnt that when you start saying no to yourself, you lose opportunities that could have shaped you, she says.

The 39-year-old shares: “I was in a relationship back then, and the other person (my ex) wasn’t comfortable with the kind of project I was being offered. I forgot that my personal and professional lives are separate. Being in the same field, he should have understood that, instead of holding me back,” Pavitra who was earlier dating actor Eijaz Khan further admits saying no to big production houses and OTT platforms 

“It is something I don’t want to repeat. I should never have been pressured into saying no to work or worried about what he would think. Everyone knows how this industry functions. I had to break that chain, and now I’ve crossed that phase of my life.”

The experience, she says, was a wake-up call. “I realized that the only person who should decide for me is me. I don’t want to say no to something that could help me grow just because I’m worried about someone else’s opinion. I’ve learnt not to say no to myself anymore.”

The actor, who gained fame through TV dramas and her presence on reality shows, says that her journey has been one of unlearning and evolving. “Reality shows aren’t easy, they test endurance, survival, and mental strength. You’re stripped of comfort, appearances, everything that makes you feel secure,” shares Pavitra, who was last seen in Reality Rani Season 2.

Despite this evolution, TV remains close to her heart. “No matter how many OTT or film projects come my way, I’ll always return to television if time allows. It’s where I started, it’s my foundation. And reality shows: I can never say no to them. They made me who I am. Growth is a choice and this time, I’m choosing myself.”

After taking a “deliberate” break from TV for a year, Pavitra Punia returned to the small screen with Ishq Ki Dastaan Naagmani, making this her second outing in the fantasy genre after Baalveer Returns. In a chat with us, Pavitra spoke about her fascination with fantasy shows, playing the villain on screen and answers the question everyone is asking her these days — when will she marry her boyfriend Eijaz Khan (Bigg Boss 14 co-contestant).

Since last year, I have been flooded with offers for Punjabi music videos. Especially since so many Bigg Boss couples have featured in them, Eijaz and I also got approached. But somehow it hasn’t clicked yet. Besides, as a couple we are very clear about what we want to do and not sign something just because others have done it.

Everyone is always asking us about our wedding, but honestly, we are as good as married. When you have lived with someone for long, you stop looking at each other as boyfriend, girlfriend. But when we will officially announce ourselves as husband and wife in a ceremony, is not in our hands. We have been planning since last year that we will do it this year and this year also we are planning the same. Our wedding will be very instant because we have such packed lives. We are trying hard to figure out where to fit our wedding in our schedule!

Marriage is a very big thing for both of us. We don’t want to get married by taking three days off and then resuming work. We want to enjoy the phase where we can indulge and feel the butterflies in our stomach that, oh my God! We did it! As a couple we are featuring in a project together. Although we get many offers, we don’t like many of them. We have a lot of professional integrity and want to work where we give each other equal respect.

This new show is very different from the Naagin series (Pavitra has also featured in Naagin 3). If the producer is writing any show, it’s because the audience wants to see it. One thing though is for sure that saas-bahu shows are not going anywhere. Even fantasy genre has a touch of saas-bahu. Fantasy for me is very Hollywood, very English. It’s like doing a Game Of Thrones kind of show in India (laughs).

I am doing two Bollywood films, besides web projects and TV. I took one and half years off from television shows, sitting at home to deliberately break my image of being a ‘TV actress only’. If not a main heroine, I would like to be a parallel lead in Bollywood, but in web films I have to be the main lead.

Pavitra Punia is not feeling well. She says she has not been able to come to terms with the sudden death of her good friend and co-star Sidharth Shukla. The actor was proud of his achievements and knew how ambitious he was.

She adds that he loved superbikes and cars and would often bring his superbike on set to “show off”. Punia says, “In the next two years, he would have reached greater heights.”

The actor says her heart goes out to his family and friend Shehnaaz Gill. Talking about Gill, Punia says, “Aaj main jab Shehnaaz ko dekhti hoon, toh rooh kaanp jaati hai. People dream of having a pure bond like they had. I wouldn’t say it was dosti or boyfriend-girlfriend. Yeh rishta pati-patni se kam nahin tha. Their fans are crazy about them. I hope she manages, stays strong.”

Recalling her rapport with him, she shares, “We had a Tom and Jerry like bond! I worked with him in Love U Zindagi in 2011, my first show as a lead. I didn’t know the ways of the industry, yet, I had an attitude. I was called a youth icon and a reality star due to Splitsvilla. Sidharth was reserved, composed. He was my senior, but we had issues. I’d think hoga hero apne ghar ka. The show lasted for six months. But we bonded when we went to Macau for an awards show. That’s where we broke the ice. He was such a gentleman. Later, when we met on Bigg Boss, he asked me, ‘Dus saal pehle wali Pavtira kahan hai?’. He wanted the rowdy Pavitra. Had he not helped me realise the original Pavitra, I wouldn’t have lasted for a week.”

It wasn’t love at first sight for these two Bigg Boss 14 contestants. However, Eijaz Khan and Pavitra Punia have now taken their love-hate relationship to the next level and made it official to the world that “we are dating”. Interestingly, their love-hate rapport continues even outside the house, as just before talking to us exclusively, the two revealed that they fought over something, but then patched up in no time. Excerpts from the conversation...

Pavitra: I have always believed that love is a very beautiful feeling. We both are feeling it now. We fought inside the Bigg Boss house and still had feelings for each other there. Now, we have come out of the house and have confessed our feelings for each other. It's blissful.

Eijaz: I was too confused inside the Bigg Boss house. Everything there was from a game’s perspective. But anything and everything that came from Pavitra, was very real. Now that I have come out of the house and I see those clips of our fights, I see that hesitation and smile on my face ki arre yaar mujhe Pavitra pe gussa kyun nahi aa raha hai? Love for her, I think, was always there, and now I have confessed my feelings. And now, I can’t wait to torture her for the rest of my life!

Eijaz: Abhi bahut papad belne hain shaadi ke liye. Shaadi inshallah hogi, aur bahut sahi waqt pe hogi. We are keeping our fingers crossed and if all goes well, Pavitra and I will get married this year. Abhi humare ghar waale bahut phaile hue hain, pehle unhe samet le and then we will think about marriage.

Pavitra: Things will happen very soon. We can’t predict our future, but we can be hopeful and wishful about the future.

Eijaz: My brother and my cousins have met Pavitra. I have also met her brother. Woh ho chuka hai, now the planning for the other generation to meet is on.

Pavitra: Just before this call, we were having the ‘Bigg Boss time’ again where we were fighting and he was saying that do not raise your voice at me. When a relationship is real, you fight and make up and this cycle continues. This journey can’t always be sweet. People thought our fights were fake, but they were all real.

Eijaz: Earlier in the house, we used to fight over ridiculous issues like nominations etc., but now, we fight and argue on real things. She is teaching me how to look at life from a bigger perspective during the fights and counsels me on how not to have a bad day over things that are not in my control. Our fights are real and so is our making up. It is not because we have a Weekend Ka Vaar and so we are together, it is genuine.

Eijaz: Take a guess! I said I am sorry and you are right! It is always like that.

Pavitra: It was so because most of the time, he is wrong and when he is wrong, I need to shout and then he takes brownie points by saying, ‘Sorry, I won’t do it again!’ But if you see, he was wrong in the first place! He creates the fight and then says sorry (giggles!).

Eijaz: We wanted to watch it together, but both of us have been busy with our work and have not had the time to catch up much on the episodes.

Pavitra: Going by Eijaz’s image, whatever she is doing is completely opposite of what his image is. He has mostly been quiet and has not been violent the way she has been in the recent episode. Eijaz ne ghar ko kabhi bhi nuksaan nahi pahunchaya. But having said that, going by the tough competition inside the house as of now, I think she is giving good content to be there in the house. Eventually, content matters, which the audience and the makers love. I would love to see more of this side of Devoleena because by doing all this todphod, she is going to be in the show, which means Eijaz is in the show.

Eijaz: I have lost touch with what is happening inside the house. If I go as a competitor now, I have a lot to catch up on, and I am ready for it.

When a celebrity declares their love on national television, it is often believed to be not-so-genuine and just for the camera. But Pavitra Punia wants the world to know what Eijaz Khan and she feel for each other is real. The latter professed his love for Punia on the reality show Bigg Boss 14 and she, too, has reciprocated.

“Our feelings are real. What we have is real. It takes courage to say something like that on national TV. When we were in the reality show, it was never fake. Even my friends asked how real it is, but let me tell you no one will ruin their personal image for publicity. We will take it forward slowly,” says Punia, who feels people doubt them as they had a love-hate relationship on TV.

“When we were apart for over a month, it was the moment of truth for us. Our feelings didn’t change. Future toh unpredictable hai! We can only decide and live in the present. It is a blessed moment for us. Earlier, we felt attachment and care, now we are in love. Love is when you know you are there for someone and that person is there for you. I love his aura, his personality and stubbornness,” she smiles.

She says as both of them are now shooting, they’re spending their free time together. Punia and Khan have met each other’s brothers and reports suggested she might meet his father, but she says it’s too soon. “Meeting siblings is fine as they are more like friends. I am a shy person, so though I want to meet his dad, but what we have is too new,” she adds.

Asked about hotelier Sumit Maheshwari’s claims that he was married to her and Punia says, “I don’t want to comment on my past. I only want to focus on my present.”