Exclusive – Erica Fernandes on taking a break from TV: I felt stuck and wasn’t growing as an actor

Erica Fernandes has enthralled audience as a TV bahu in shows like 'Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi' and 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay'. She took a considerable break from TV shifted base to Dubai and is now seen on screen in a horror short film. The actress made a quick trip to India for the interactions and her first reaction was ‘Mumbai is so hot now’. In an exclusive interaction with ETimes TV, Erica opened up about exploring the horror genre, shifting to Dubai, break from TV and more.

The experience was fresh for me because it is a new kind of genre I am exploring. Having said that, it feels like there’s more to me than the person, who was only doing so much work before. It shows a different side of me to other people as well. People who have seen me in certain roles, they will now know that there is more to me.

More than challenging, it was exciting. It gave me an adrenaline rush. I was very very excited ever since I was offered this because it is also based on true incidents. I wanted to do my best and give all kinds of variations.

Not scared and if such a situation occurs, I would like to see what happens. I used to be scared of ghosts as a kid but not now. I watch horror movies with eyes open, but the slash thrillers, where you see someone chopping bodies and all, there I close my eyes.

The reason why I took this break was I felt I was stuck. I felt very stagnant. It’s not about the success you get out of the successful shows that you are a part of. Why I said I felt stagnant is because I was doing good shows, but I was not growing as an actor. I was doing very similar kind of things. I was not getting any challenging roles to play. So, I wanted to wait it out and give some time and wanted to see what’s coming my way. Everything was perfect. Sometimes you just get tired doing the same things and you want for something that would change it. This short film was it for me.

I don’t want to take a break from TV intentionally. If I get something which is different from the past two shows (KZK 2 and KRPKAB) that I have done, then I will definitely come back on TV screen. Even if I have to change my appearance, I am ok. A good role doesn’t mean you have to look glamorous on screen. I don’t believe in that. People don’t see you for the look, they see the weightage a character has on you.

I am seeing the best of both worlds. It makes you grow as a person. I am more focused on what I want to do in life. I have a different view on a lot of things specially on how things need to be taken care of – yourself, finances. There was a time when I had people handling it for me and now I am learning my own things. New country, new regulations, all of these things gave me a whole new perspective. You mature a little bit more when you handle all of these things. When you have to handle these things in two different countries it makes you a different person altogether.

I usually make these decisions by myself. I really don’t like asking someone for permission. My parents really don’t intrude much into my work. If I have to take suggestions, I go to my friend Amber and there’s Shubhaavi (Chouksey) and Sonya (Ayodhya). I am always in touch with them on video calls and chats.