Mouni Roy reveals acting was never planned; came to Mumbai for a ‘summer job’ 19 years ago

Mumbai: Actor Mouni Roy has revealed that becoming an actor was never part of her original career plan and that when she first arrived in Mumbai 19 years ago, she expected to stay for only three or four months before returning to Delhi. Speaking during the latest episode of filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan’s YouTube vlog, Mouni looked back at the unlikely circumstances that brought her into the entertainment industry and eventually led to a successful career spanning television and films.

Before entering show business, Mouni studied English Honours at Miranda House in Delhi and later pursued a master’s degree in Mass Communication at Jamia Millia Islamia. She revealed that she secured a first class in English Honours and had been actively involved in Indian street theatre during her student years.

Chance encounter changed career

Mouni recalled that her entry into television began unexpectedly while she was walking outside her university in Delhi. Someone associated with producer Ekta Kapoor’s team spotted her on the road, approached her and asked whether she would be interested in auditioning. The actor said such stories about people being unexpectedly discovered often sounded improbable, but that was precisely how her own journey began.

The chance encounter eventually led to an audition for the hugely popular television serial ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. Mouni secured the role of Krishna Tulsi and joined the show towards the latter part of its original run, which was headlined by Smriti Irani. Despite getting the opportunity, Mouni said she did not initially imagine acting would become her profession. With her background in street theatre, she viewed the Mumbai assignment as a temporary experience.

She thought she would spend three or four months working in the city as part of a “summer job” and then return to Delhi. Those plans, however, changed after she developed an attachment to Mumbai and the work she was doing. Mouni said she “absolutely fell in love” with the city. Asked by Farah how long she had now been living in Mumbai, the actor said it had been 19 years.

From television debut to Bollywood

The unplanned television opportunity eventually developed into a lengthy acting career. After ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, Mouni appeared in several television productions before becoming one of the medium’s most recognisable faces.

She played Sati in ‘Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev’ and later achieved enormous popularity with her portrayal of the shape-shifting serpent Shivanya in ‘Naagin’. The success of the supernatural drama and its sequel further established her as a leading television star.

Mouni subsequently moved into Hindi cinema, appearing in films including ‘Gold’, ‘Made in China’ and ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’. Her performance as Junoon, the antagonist in ‘Brahmastra’, brought her wider recognition on the big screen.

She has also continued to work across films, television and streaming projects while remaining associated with dance and reality programming.

Looking back nearly two decades later, Mouni’s career stands in sharp contrast to the plans she had as a university student in Delhi — what she initially regarded as a few months of work in Mumbai ultimately became the beginning of a 19-year journey in the entertainment industry.