A suitable girl

Tanzim Pardiwalla chats with Tanya Maniktala, who became famous with A Suitable Boy and is enjoying herself playing a vampire in Tooth Pari

- Tanzim Pardiwalla

She wowed the viewers with her acting in Mira Nair’s web series A Suitable Boy. From films like Santosh Sivan’s Mumbaikar, the OTT anthology Feels Like Ishq, the web series Chutzpah and Tooth Pari, Tanya Maniktala has a lot to offer her fans. Her role as Lata Mehra in A Suitable Boy, which also featured Tabu and Ishaan Khatter, came as a revelation. And to think that it almost didn’t happen.

Recounting the moments that led to the beginning of her acting career, Tanya says that the realisation of her potential never dawned on her. In spite of doing theatre in college, which she admits was the outcome of pressure from her sister. After wrapping the TVF series Flames, she was ready to give it all up to become a full-time copywriter. Just when she had deemed acting “too demanding” A Suitable Boy happened. She says, “I just gave into it like okay I will have fun. And that was pretty much it. I told myself, I’m not going to overthink this. If people around me believe that I’m good at it, why am I the one who’s doubting myself constantly?” Talking about her breakout role, she says, “