Lost mom to cancer the day I signed the show: Twinkle Arora

From modelling for Punjabi music videos, Twinkle Arora landed her Hindi entertainment break with the show Udaariyaan last year. With the show taking a generation leap, the previous cast, including Twinkle who played Nehmat, has moved out of the show, paving the way for a new cast. “It would be inappropriate for me to play mom to a girl my age,” says Twinkle who is an alumna of DAV College, Chandigarh, with master’s in marketing management. “So, I’m ok leaving the show. But this being my big break in Hindi TV, Udaariyaan will remain close to me,” says Twinkle though her Hindi debut had a heartbreaking start. “My mom passed away the day I started shooting for the show,” she says, adding, “She was hospitalized in August 2022 for cancer. On September 11, I was finalized for the show, and on September 13 she was gone. The first two months of the shoot were a blur and the actual realization about her passing hit me two days back when I left the show and stopped shooting.”

Talking about playing Priyanka Chahar Choudhary's daughter in the show, until Priyanka left for Bigg Boss 16, Twinkle says the pressure was immense. “Priyanka was an experienced TV actress, and she had raised the character to a benchmark. So, I had that pressure to match up while playing her daughter on screen,” she says.