I miss the rajmah chawal of Stu-C...

Mona

To all those who tell model-actress Kanika Mann, ‘Tusi Punjab bhul gaye hon’, she was in Chandigarh on Wednesday promoting her show Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega! “Chandigarh made me realise my dreams that I dare not express. Main kade vi es shahar nu bhul nahi sakdi,” she beams. Kanika completed her law course from Punjab University; she recollects, “All my years here, having rajmah chawal at Stu-C every afternoon was ritual that I religiously stuck to!”

Work front

With 60- 70 Punjabi videos to her credit, Kanika was seen in the movies Rocky Mental and Daana Paani before she took to television. “Trust me, it was a tough call. Everyone told me it’s impossible to make a move from small screen to big and having done movies, to do TV was suicidal,” shares Kanika, who doesn’t believe in living life in boxes.

When the lead role was offered to her, she couldn’t resist it and admits it has worked both ways, “I thought playing the title role, the whole show would revolve around me — that it does and I love it, but it also means I am working almost always.” Playing a young saas to older bahus is the premise of the story that this girl, grown up on tele-serials, found fascinating. “I remember when young I wouldn’t skip a day of the telly shows, exams or not! It feels great to find the same love and adoration now that I am an actor.”

Emotional quotient

Kanika Mann has starred in a number of music videos, so which one is her favourite? “I am my daddy’s daughter. When he saw Arman Bedil’s Laavan, he had tears in his eyes. To date he loves that song, which makes it my favourite too.”