Chitrangda Singh, whose latest film Baazaar has just released, was also present at the NewsX-The Sunday Guardian Food Conclave, hosted at The Oberoi, Delhi, on Friday.
On the occasion, she said, “It’s a commendable initiative. I’m glad iTV is partnering with the government to help manage the problem of food wastage. If excess can be directed to places and people in need, it will be very helpful indeed.”
The actress participated in a session titled “Singh is Queen”. During the session, the actress spoke about her journey in the Hindi film industry. She said, “I’ve chosen the best of what’s come my way. Sometimes you make a choice because of the setup. Factors like who are making the film, if it would be made well and released well, also make a difference.”
Besides being an actress, Singh, like many other leading ladies in Bollywood, has recently forayed into production and made her debut as a producer with Soorma, a film starring Diljit Dosanjh which was released earlier this year. She was also felicitated with a special award for the same at Friday’s Food Conclave.
Talking about the film, Chitrangda said “I have grown up around sports people who have excelled in their fields. Unfortunately in India you really don’t have much recognition or reward if you pursue a sport other than cricket. It is so inspiring to see how they [sportspersons] still train and put in so much hard work just for the honour of wearing the India blazer.”
She continued: “I heard Sandeep Singh’s story and was very moved with how he made a comeback from being in a wheelchair and wanted to help tell that to the world. I am delighted the film did well and in this way we were able to bring some attention to this hero.”
The session also had the actress talking about how she manages to strike a balance between her professional and personal life. She also reminisced about the different phases of her life and how she overcame every challenge that came in her way.
Singh, who has completed her graduation in Home Science (Food and Nutrition) from Delhi’s Lady Irwin College, said, “Home Science is a lot of work. We studied zoology, botany and what not. I was stitching, cooking, growing vegetables, dissecting animals, you do everything possible.”
On one big change that has come about in the film industry, she said, “Today’s films are anything but stereotypical… The audience is too smart now. They see through publicity and PR circus, the machinery that goes behind putting up the whole drama.”
Singh has recently turned judge for a unique food-based show aired on the English GEC channel, AXN, that opened on 12 October. Talking about the show at the conclave, she said, “It was called the AXN Ultimate Cookoff and was a great format where you had some of India’s finest chefs coming together and competing with each other. I had two other judges with me who are also leading chefs. So mine was the voice of a layperson that judges based on the taste and presentation. One of my favourite shows on food is Top Chef, and it’s great we could do something like this in India.”