The ‘Mismatched 3’ actress Aditi Govitrikar speaks about the existing pay parity in the industry, botox fillers, her take on Bigg Boss and more.
An actress, a doctor, a former model, Aditi Govitrikar is a woman of many hats. Former ‘Mrs World’, Govitrikar has worked in several films, web shows and also participated in reality TV shows. Some might know her from her latest role as Rishi Singh Shekhawat’s mother in ‘Mismatched.’ But it was not always a cakewalk for her. In an exclusive conversation with India.com, Aditi Govitrikar speaks on the pay parity that still exists, recalls time when she was advised to hide her marital status, her favourite ‘Mismatched’ season and more.
Aditi Govitrikar never planned on becoming an actress but a doctor. One accidental shoot by a friend put her on the journey in the showbiz. Overnight she was receiving calls for ads and eventually became a model. Acting became a “parallel profession”, along with medicine.
Speaking about her time in the industry and saying no to scripts, she says, “I have many times said no even when I was a newcomer. It was not because of attitude ego or anything, I have done many small roles also. You know when we talk about giving the due, nobody gives anyone anything. You have to earn it, you have to work towards it. At that time I did what I thought was best for me.”
Aditi Govitrikar on Pay Gap
Several actors have openly talked about the pay gap that exists in Bollywood. Agreeing to same, Govitrikar said, ” Yeah, I think it does. It has improved and it is improving but it is still not the same. Even in corporate field, or when I talk to my friends from other fields, for a woman it is always lesser. The acknowledgement, everything is lesser. But I think the things are changing in the right direction.”
Aditi Govitrikar on Doing Bigg Boss Again
Aditi Govitrikar is also a former Bigg Boss 3 contestant and Khatron Ke Khiladi season 1 as well. She shared how she never really watched the previous two seasons for Bigg Boss before participating in it and still does not follow it. When asked if she would like to do it all over again, she says, “Khatron ke Khiladi I will definitely do but Bigg Boss I don’t think so.”
Aditi Govitrikar and Her Pageantry Days
Adhering to beauty standards often felt like a pressure especially in the yesteryears. When we asked about adhering to beauty norms back in the days during her pageant show, the ‘Mismatched’ actress recalled, “I got married very young and became a mother at a very young age. Pressure yeh tha ki tum bata kyu rahe ho ki tumhari shadi hogayi hai, chup chap kaam karo. Don’t talk about. When I participated in Mrs World, that was the advise that was given to me that you are committing a professional suicide, why are you openly talking about it and things like that…My marriage should not stop my works that is my belief, if it does I will just go back to being a doctor. I don’t want to live my life in a pretense”.
But fate was in her favour and work started coming her way post her iconic win. She became the first Indian woman to win Mrs World in 2001. “There was a lot of appreciation and positive response that I got,” she added.
Furthering the discussion about beauty and how people openly now talk about getting botox, filler etc, Govitrikar shared her purview on the same. “Doing things to your face is personal choice. I cannot say that isne aise kiya to bahut bura kiya. My only outlook is don’t change your face where it becomes completely unrecognisable. Don’t go overboard it. Ageing gracefully is one of the way looking at it, you eat well, exercice, wear sunscreen and keep hydrated. But ageing is a natural process. You can’t have plastic or glassy look when you are 90,” former Mrs World believes.
With Aditi, how can we not discus ‘Mismatch’ starring Rohit Saraf and Prajakta Kohli. “It is a very beautifully made series and I am very happy to be a part of it but I enjoyed season 2 I have to admit because I was getting married, there was a bridal joda. And the most beautiful part was that it was very progressive. The whole plot because Rohit my son gives me away, it was beautiful.”
Aditi Govitrikar reprised her character in ‘Mismatched season 3’ on Netflix. On work front, she is currently working for season 3 of Mrs Marvelous India, a pageant show started by her.