Shweta Tripathi On Why Being An Actor Comes To Her As Naturally As Breathing

Photography by Kevin Nunes. Styling: Nelly Wadia. Hair and makeup: Devika Heroor. Shirt: Salita Nanda. Jacket and trousers: The Label Life

Shweta Tripathi | Spreading Sunshine

Propelled into the spotlight with her small-screen portrayal of the cheerful tomboy Zenia Khan on Disney India’s Kya Mast Hai Life, Twitter and Instagram’s @battatawada, is currently working on the indie Hollywood film The Illegal with Suraj Sharma. Shweta Tripathi spent a few years in the capital before her father, an IAS officer, was transferred to Andaman and Nicobar islands. “Those were some of the best years of my life. That’s when I discovered how much I like travelling and being outdoors. Every weekend used to be a picnic on a new island, and it was an enriching experience.” A free-spirited nomad, Mumbai is presently the city she calls home.

As someone who’s shared a lifelong relationship with the stage, acting was what the 32-year-old Delhi-born actor was destined for. “In all my different schools, the one thing that was constant was that I was always into dramatics. So I had to become an actor — there was no other way.” Over the years, advertisements for Vodafone, Tanishq and Cadbury, voice-overs, and her stints on the big and small screens including Masaan (2015) and Haraamkhor (2017) have kept her busy.

A certified scuba diver and adventure sports junkie, as an actor, Shweta’s days are anything but typical; but the two things that always find a place in her schedule are her Pilates classes and quality time with her boyfriend. “I think there’s so much happening in the world and there are many reasons to be unhappy. I would like to be a spark of happiness or the silver lining in a cloud.”