A promising debut: Meenakshi Chaudhary

There are a couple of promising new faces that the web series on Hotstar, 'Out of Love' introduced. Meenakshi Chaudhary, Miss India, who made headlines when she won the first runner-up title in Miss Grand International Pageant chose not to take the usual path by debuting on web series and not choosing Bollywood. Tall and beautiful, smart, emotional and sensitive Alia Kashyap is a pivotal character in 'Out of Love', an official adaptation of BBC drama 'Doctor Foster'. The story of husband-wife duo Akarsh and Meera has many layers, the main plot being the extramarital affair of Akarsh and its effect on the family. And Meenakshi plays the role of a youngster with a married lover, and one could call it a dream debut with much scope for the display of emotions and controlled acting. She explains why she chose 'Out of Love' as her debut.

"I was Miss India, and after the pageant, everyone wanted to know if I will be acting in a film. When I wanted to make my debut, I knew I wanted to be known for my acting. I was convinced that 'Out of Love' was perfect for me in terms of acting, storyline and I could relate to Alia and I knew I would be able to give justice to the character. This has drawn me towards the show."

Meenakshi is multitalented, to say the least. She was an active sportsperson, studied to become a dental doctor, and her artistic inclination drew her towards acting. "I was always artistic, was inclined towards sports, was a national debater, and had been part of extracurriculars my entire life. My family has been in army, and so, I changed a lot of schools and was exposed to many cultures. And that has inculcated my values and I was ready to take up whatever comes my way and try if it works. I was good in studies, and so I became a doctor. I was good at sports, so pursued badminton and swimming. All these added to having many experiences in terms of human emotions."

She adds, "I am a person who never puts emotions out in the front, in general. When I came to know about acting, I realised this was one area I could put it all out through the character given to me."

Speaking about the character of Alia in 'Out of Love', she says, "The character gave me a lot of scope. The whole story revolves around me. I am the one responsible for the tiff between the couple and I am also going through a lot of stress and a multitude of emotions. At the age of 22, I am in love with this guy and get pregnant. This happens to so many people and was very relatable, and it was a rollercoaster ride in terms of emotions as well."

Having chosen acting as a career, Meenakshi feels she has arrived at the right place, "I truly enjoy being photographed. I realised this during Miss India pageant. I was chosen as Miss Photogenic. Until then I did not know I was good in front of the camera. I was always this studious medical kid. I started gaining my confidence and this was probably why I chose to act as well. Because nothing else gave me as much thrill as being in front of the camera and I don't mind doing this job forever in life."

'Out of Love' is Meenakshi's first acting assignment and she was excited to be working with a dazzling array of actors. There were tough scenes like the one on the dining table. She relates, "It was very challenging. There is a lot of tension around the table and Meera reveals a secret, which I wanted to be the one sharing with my family, and it turns out to be quite emotional. I was getting to work with experts at their craft and each one is an amazing actor delivering their best. It was amazing."

"Script is the backbone of any series. If the script is good, half the work is done. And for 'Out of Love' script was amazingly well done," she states.