Chitrangada Singh gives Debarati Palit Singh a quick peek into her upcoming show Where Tigers Rule on Animal Planet, films and juggling between work and home

Smart, suave and one of the finest Bollywood actresses, Chitrangada Singh has managed to impress the audience with her acting prowess in films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Yeh Saali Zindagi, Inkaar, among others.
Soon, she will be donning a new avatar. Chitrangada has joined Animal Planet to create awareness about the threats that affect tiger survival. Here’s chatting her up before her month-long show Where Tigers Rule kicks off. Excerpts:

What prompted you to join Animal Planet’s initiative for tigers?
My love for animals and wildlife. Since I was a kid, I have been passionate about animals. My father was in the Army, so most of the time we lived in places far away from cities. We were fortunate to be close to nature. So when Animal Planet approached me and we discussed the dwindling tiger population in India, I knew I had to be a part of the show. Being a part of Where Tigers Rule, I am just doing my bit.

What’s your role in the show?
I will be talking about tigers and telling the audience how this species is under threat. I will also be asking more people to watch the programme and educating them about ways to save the tiger. We need to act now, or else it will be too late!

Talking about your films, we haven’t much heard about Sudhir Mishra’s Mehrunnisa since the announcement was made last year?
The shooting hasn’t started yet. The production house is still scheduling dates. Apart from Mehrunnisa, I will be shooting for two other films in June and September this year.

You have been very choosy about your roles. Don’t you feel being left out in the race?
Not really. We all choose our own place and find our pace. We do things which we enjoy. I found the scripts of my two upcoming films really exciting. They may not be the Rowdy Rathore types but they are definitely commercial.

You are known as a fashionista. What’s your style mantra?
I am a casual person and like it easy. I mostly wear jeans and T-shirts, and I love jackets. I even wear them over dresses. But I am not a brand person neither do I like to go over the top. I like to keep it classy and structured.

Controversies never seem to leave you, be it your marriage or the rumour that producer Nikhil Advani backed out from Mehrunnisa because of you. How do you handle rumours?
Even recently there was some rumour about the CCL matches I attended in Dubai. I have no idea how these stories emerge. The kind of headlines you read about yourself is bizarre, and almost 99 per cent of the time they are untrue. That said, this kind of news do affect me. For instance, when I read about Nikhil, I called him in the morning and we laughed about it. Sometimes these stories create misunderstandings. But I think people from the industry know how it works.

To have a career in the entertainment industry is demanding. How do you juggle between home and work?
I have always maintained that my job is far easier than women who work 9 to 5. Fortunately, I can choose my work days and manage my schedule. I am not always perfect, but I have learnt to juggle things.