No mega soap can be successful without a scheming, mischievous villain. One of the most hated villains of the daily soap realm in Odisha, Soumyashri Kanungo played a stylish negative characterin Sindura Bindu aired on Zee Sarthak channel. Her role in the daily soap was not only well-received by her fans but it also got her the award for thebest popular negative character in female category last year at the Zee Sarthak Parivar Awards. Now, the actress is all set to make her debut in Odia films with Ishqwala Love.
Hailing from Balasore, Soumyashree was not always passionate about acting. She was very fond of dancing and, in 2009, she won the dancing reality show One Two Cha ChaCha aired on Etv. Subsequently, she was flooded with offers from the album industry and has appeared in as many as 150 Odia album videos.
Recalling her initial days in the entertainment world, Soumyashreesays, “Acting was not my cup of tea. My forte was dancing. After winning the reality show One Two Cha ChaCha, I was first seen in an album opposite popular actor Bobby Mishra. I began to be noticed. While doing albums, I got an acting offer. Though there was noaudition, I wasselected to play the second lead in the tele soap To Agana re Tulasi Mu aired on Zee Sarthak. Later, I appeared in a few mega soaps like Tapasya, Kemiti A Bandhan, Rajakanya and Sindura Bindu. Though I have played positive characters on thesmall screen, it was negative characters that brought me success. The characters of Barsha and Nandini in Sindura Bindu and Rajakanya made me a household name. Acting happened to me by chance but now I cannot think of leading a life sans acting. I must say that it has been a sweet journey for me.”
Daughter of businessman Ram Chandra and homemaker Jayanti Kanungo, Soumyashree recalls a memorable experience she had on the sets. She says, “Once on the sets of Sindura Bindu, I had to deliver dialogues for two episodes at one go. In the scene, I thought I had made the peopleinmy in-law’s house unconscious and sostarted revealing my plotting. But little did Iknow that they were all only pretending to be unconscious to catch me red-handed. Delivering dialogues for two episodes was difficult but I did it.”
Recollecting another interesting incident on the sets, Soumyashree says, “I was playing the character of Nandini in the soap Rajakanya in which I was not aware of my mother’s existence. For me, she was dead long back. When I came to know she was alive and was united with her, I felt as if I was meeting my own biological mother after a long time and I started crying inconsolably. Perhaps that happened because I was staying away from my family. Whatever the reason, the scene brought tears to my eyes without the help of glycerin.”
Asked if her parents were supportive, she says, “Every parent wants their kids to be doctors, scientists and engineers. So, initially, my parentswere against my decision to act. When they started watching my shows, however, they changed their view. They are now happy about it. Had I been a doctor or engineer, how many people would know about me? Now when they see my parents or siblings, people scream ‘See, they are Soumya’s family members.’ It makes my parents feel proud of me. I would like to attribute my success to my parents. I would not have achieved success so early in my acting career without their blessings.”
Soumyashree has a dream. “I will cherish the day when I can share screen space with Odia film industry heartthrob Anubhav Mohanty.”
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP
