Payal Rohatgi began her career with Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai (2002) and was then seen in Plan (2004), Rakht (2004), 36 China Town (2006) etc. At the same time, she appeared in lead roles in films like Tauba Tauba (2004), Chetna: The Excitement (2005), Fun - Can Be Dangerous Sometimes (2005) etc. These films were fronted by her, and they drew an audience thanks to her presence. In fact, Tauba Tauba was a decent hit and this writer remembers its shows going house-full in its third week at Gaiety-Galaxy's Gossip theatre. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Payal Rohatgi opened up about these films and a lot more.
Payal Rohatgi said, “What happened was that yes, I was the face of these films. But at that time, there was no social media. I am an outsider with no film background. I had no idea about placement, positioning, PR, strategy etc. One of my films (Chetna: The Excitement) was directed by Partho Ghosh, who had made films with Madhuri Dixit in the past. Lekin in filmon ki grading ko leke gadbad ho jaati thi. We should have been careful, but then, I had no idea about A-grade, B-grade etc.”
She continued, “Mahesh Bhatt was in the news at that time for making bold and hot movies. Many producers were inspired by those films. At one point, I got some 4-5 films which were glamorous and fronted by me. It was nice because at that point, I really felt like I had become a big star. Mere naam se picturein release ho rahi thi theatre ke andar. However, it’s a journey. It's only when you become a part of the journey that you understand its graph. It was a nice phase and I hope to do some good work as an actor once again. I believe I deserve something substantial at this stage.”
Despite the grading of these films, the film industry did notice her, evident by the fact that she got a chance to work in big-ticket movies like Corporate and 36 China Town. Payal Rohatgi explained, “What happens is that you tend to become boisterous and arrogant. Yeh success ka stage chanchal hota hai. After success, you will see failure. And if you turn arrogant during your successful phase, no one would stand with you during your failure. Since we are not from the industry, we have never seen it before. Achanak log humko chane ke jhaad pe chadha dete hai. Toh hum bhi sochne lagte hain ki hum bhagwan ban gaye. At times, people are in denial when they face a lull, leading to depression.”
She added, “In short, I was not able to properly handle the zone of success. Had I handled it well, ab bhi gaadi chal rahi hoti. Moreover, I faced some controversies and got into bad habits. Consequently, I had to go to reality shows.”
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