#WhereAreThey Series: I love to act, but I chose history over acting, says Jhanak Shukla

Jhanak Shukla started her acting career big as Shah Rukh Khan’s co-star in Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003 as the adorable Gia Kapur and followed it up with a very successful stint on TV show Karishma Kaa Karishma as the cute human robot.

Talking about being famous as a child actor, she says, “It was very different and but my parents and people around me didn’t make me feel very different. School mein bhi koi mujhe sarr pe chadha ke nahi rakhta tha. I was treated like a normal child. I used to participate in plays and did side roles in them.”

Shukla says that she continued with her studies but enjoyed life as an actor.

“The best part about acting was that I got to travel to different places and meet people. That is something that you get to experience much later in your life. Mujhe woh sab bachpan mein mila. The exposure was amazing. I also remember that I used to get pampered a lot on sets. I will say that it was a regular life but with a twist. I felt good always, there was never a dull moment,” she recalls.

But Shukla has been away from the silver screen. “I count Kal Ho Naa Ho and Karishma Kaa Karishma as my official acting roles. After that I did many advertisements and a film called Deadline in 2006 and also a stint on an episode in TV show Gumrah. I remember I told my mum (actor Supriya Shukla) that I wanted to do it and she knew someone and helped test for the role. But I was in 10th class back then,” shares Shukla, now 25.

Not acting but academia and entrepreneurship found a place in her heart growing up. She says that she felt more inclined towards studies than the big screen.

“My parents told me that I had to finish my studies first. They also told me that I needed to groom, and be prepared well before getting into acting as an adult. They told me that aise hi nahi ghuss jaana hai agar career banana hai toh. They told me to finish graduation and then take up acting. But by that time I had developed a strong love for history. Acting ka shauk hai but I chose history over acting. I then did my masters in Archaeology and was supposed to go abroad for my further studies in the field but the pandemic hit,” rues Shukla.

But she is now pursuing her MBA and running a lifestyle retain portal. “Studies never go waste. If I am educated enough I will be able to take more informed decisions,” she adds.

She has big plans for her future and acting also feature in it. “I want to do a lot of things..I also want to open a café but uske liye mujhe paise chahiye. I want to do so much and that is both a good and bad thing. I am not very clear about stuff. I keep trying new things,” she ends.