Birth name- Neha Singh, work name- Pavitra Punia. That TV actress who did not struggle in life. Due to her height and looks, she started getting offers for modeling and commercial ads. Pavitra did her first show as a lead actress with Siddharth Shukla. Not only this, he started his career from reality shows. Nowadays she is seen in season 2 of ‘Reality Queens of the Jungle’.
Even though her family did not allow her to enter the glamorous industry, she made her own path. Today Pavitra is known for her wit. Known for her work. And she has such a passion that anyone gets impressed after seeing her personality.
Your real name is Neha Singh, what is the story of becoming ‘Pavitra Punia’?
As children, we do not know what name our parents will give us. When I understood about life, I felt that I needed to be a little mature. I started getting many offers. Modeling, ads etc. I had realized that when my name was announced, it would be over even before it started. According to me, personality matters. Looks don’t matter. In such a situation, I felt that my name should not be light. I thought about this name that Pavitra Punia keeps. It is what it is, I am pure.
How was the journey from the streets of Delhi to TV?
This has been my journey from IPS officer to reality queen. I have done mostly reality shows. My career also started with reality shows. I will not mislead my audience, but I have never struggled. I have been blessed in my career since the beginning. I didn’t even know that I would get into acting, because from the beginning I wanted to become an IPS officer. But the situation became such that because of my height and face, I started getting modeling offers. So it happened suddenly and I didn’t even realize it. It so happened that one day my eyes opened and I got my first show with Siddharth Shukla in the lead role. The year was 2011. For me it was luck by chance. I have always been blessed.
How much support did the family give to your entry into the acting field?
As far as family is concerned, they never stopped me from anything. I come from a joint family and no one loved me there because I was born a girl. I will not lie about this. I would not say that my family pushed me to be a part of this industry. Do good work. He didn’t. He knew that we were not part of this glamor world. But somehow, if I failed in this industry, I knew that I could go back to my family. Family was my backbone, I got strength from them. I made a name for myself, did good work, did roles. Always having family, he also said that do whatever you want and if you don’t feel like it, don’t do it. The family supported me in every way, so I was blessed in this department.
When I talked to my family about my first show, which was a reality show, they supported me, knowing that the show contains abusive language and the content is quite bold. He did not refuse me from doing the show.
Played negative characters on screen, did it affect your personal life?
To be honest, yes, characters have a lot of impact on personal life. It depends on how people take you. There is no public problem in that. Your relatives and close ones face the most problems. But it didn’t matter to me who was thinking what. I do whatever I like. I do this by living in that vibe that I may have to suffer the consequences. Because I belong to an old-fashioned family, I always did things within limits. So it didn’t matter to me that much. The rest of the world will speak.
Away from TV for years, are you planning to work on films and OTT?
I don’t want to do films at all. From the very beginning I never thought that I would do a film. It was never my dream to appear on the silver screen. But yes, I have started OTT. There are 2-3 projects which will be launched this year. Not on Netflix, but yes my projects will come on other OTT platforms.
Pavitra’s re-entry in ‘Reality Queens of the Jungle 2’
Entry is being made in the second season of ‘Reality Queens of the Jungle 2’. As a wild card contestant. Happy that I could be a part of this show again. Goats were common in Season 1, this time too goats are common. The only difference is that this time I don’t need to eat goat. This time there are more jungle queens in the show than the first season. There are very strong girls. Happy to be a part of this season. Let us tell you that Pavitra is going to be seen in 3 episodes.
Archana Gautam was shocked to see Pavitra becoming a part of the show?
When Rakhi Sawant came, she came for entertainment. Archana is known for her statements and being vocal. She is a very strong contestant. It happens, when two strong personalities come face to face, it happens somewhere. Two swords cannot remain in one sheath. But when I took entry, Archana was very happy. Was excited.
There is a re-union with Varun Sood, so what kind of bonding do you both share in friendship?
To tell the truth, Varun is not my friend. Varun is the host. We both don’t even have each other’s numbers. Yes, there is a re-union, it was good. He was happy to see me. But they took me as a contestant.
It is possible that Pavitra will become the host of the next season. The actress hopes so.
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