Almost everyone who has performed on Delhi stage knows that the Capital’s audience shares its honest review, right there and then. And this is also know to actor Chitrashi Rawat popular for her portrayal of hockey player from Haryana in Chak De! India (2007). “People here have a knack for comedy and drama. They are so responsive that theatre becomes such an immersive experience… you will know immediately how the performance is going because the audience is perceptive and also responsive,” says the 34-year-old who was recently in the city to perform the play, Baap Ka Baap.
“For artistes, it’s that much more rewarding to know that your audience is hanging on to your performance. Dilli ki audience OK karegi toh play hit hoga hi,” shares Rawat, who is originally from Dehradun, Uttarakhand and confesses how much she loves #DilliKiSardi. She adds, “I really miss this cold weather when I’m in Mumbai… When I had to come to Delhi, I pulled out all my jackets and boots and prepped myself to gorge on gajar ka halwa! Yes, that’s the first thing I had upon landing here and it was just amazing.”
It’s indeed the cold weather and the warm delicacies that keep pulling this actor to the Capital. “I had made a quick trip to Delhi in December,” recalls Rawat, sharing how she had then taken her husband, actor Dhruvaditya Bhagwanani, on Dilli darshan. “We went to Chandni Chowk’s bylanes and experienced Dilli ki vibe! My husband and many of our friends are from Gurugram, and we had so much aaloo — aaloo chaat, aaloo tikki, fried aaloo with chaat masala. We also visited the gurdwara and had kada prasad. But the best was Daulat Ki Chaat! I tried it for the first time and felt like a cloud melting in my mouth. That’s when I thought, I have to eat it again! This was after two rounds of having relished it already (chuckles).”
“Every nook and corner of this city is so rich in history and culture,” opines Rawat, confessing how much she enjoys exploring the architecture here. “When we went to Ghalib ki Haveli, I was left mesmerised. Visiting the city, seeing it through the lens of a tourist with my husband was a gift for me, really,” says the actor who married her long-time boyfriend last year, in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). “We had decided to get married very quickly because my brother was coming from the UK and had just a four-day window. So I couldn’t do my wedding shopping from Delhi. But, some of the jewels I wore at my wedding were from Delhi,” she adds.
Her wedding actually looked like a reunion of Chak De! India girls, from the pictures that were shared on social media. And Rawat shares, “We (her co-actors from the film) are a part of each other’s day to day lives, and have a very special bond… People still recognise me as the Chak De! girl, and I’m immensely privileged to receive that recognition. All big actors have that one Friday, which makes them, and I’m so glad that I got that too! People still connect with me from that [film] and give me so much love even after a decade and a half of its release.”
