Shweta Tiwari on life's struggles

Brushing aside her tryst with bad fortune, the actor declares, 'There are many more women who have it worse than me. I am thankful to God for giving me such a beautiful life.' One of television's best known faces, Shweta Tiwari chats with Ishita Sharma at her house in Mumbai on parenting,giving love a second chance and handling life's lemons.

Shweta Tiwari walks in and I am at once struck by how attractive she is -more than she appears on screen. Standing tall at 5 feet 8 inches, she is warm and effervescent. Dressed in a printed kurta, face stripped off makeup, hair up in a ponytail, the 33-year-old is a hands-on home manager and a doting mother. Palak, her 13-year-old daughter, from her first marriage, hovers around, taking tips from her on baking a perfect cake. Her sprawling apartment in Kandivali, Mumbai, consists of two adjacent f lats with a connecting lobby.Understated and subtle, the house, reflects the calm state of her mind, say she. Shweta, her husband Abhinav and daughter Palak occupy one flat and her parents and brother Nidaan, live in the other. 'I owe a lot to my parents - providing them with a comfortable lifestyle is the least I can do,' she says.

Childhood Struggles
Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, Shweta was born and brought up in Mumbai (her family hails from Pratapgarh, UP) and studied at the St Isabel's High School, Mazagaon. Her father, a government employee, was trying hard to make ends meet, when Shweta, all of 13, decided to pitch in. 'My father was friends with a travel agent who lived across the street. During a casual chat one day, he asked my father if I could help him with his work. Even though my father was not too keen, I went ahead.' Her job was to make calls and prepare customer itineraries. 'My first salary was `500 -enough to manage my monthly expenses,' she says. She did other odd jobs, such as giving Hindi tuitions to children and helping organising neighborhood functions. 'I stopped taking money from my parents after I turned 13, a habit I still maintain,' she laughs.
You can't miss the glow on Shweta's face when she talks about her husband Abhinav. She says that despite her bitter experience,she had not given up on love. 'Life is a long journey and you can't spend it in isolation,' she says. Shweta recalls meeting Abhinav on the sets of the daily soap Jaane Kya Baat Hui in 2008. Abhinav had hada fair share of fame on TV by then. 'I invited him along with everyone else fora Ganapati puja at my house. Since he hails from Bengaluru, the concept of Ganpati Visarjan and the entire celebration was new to him, so my brother Nidaan asked him to stay over for 1 to 2 days to witness the festivities. Those two days broke the ice and we got talking,' she says.
Her family took to Abhinav right away. 'My brother Nidaan and Abhinav became great friends and even Palak started enjoying his company.'Soon, the two started dating but when it came to taking the plunge again, she did get nervous. 'Whenever Abhinav and I would have a disagreement, I was like,no, this can't be happening again! I would simply not talk to him for days!' But Abhinav stood his ground and continued to woo Shweta till she gave in. 'His respect for women and sense of responsibility made me realise that he was the one.' Living in the present, Shweta says that she is enjoying her marriage right now. '(But) life does not come with a guarantee that I will never like anyone else, nor will he. But, right now, there is a deep sense of security in our relationship,' she says with refreshing candour.The couple got married in July last year.
Winning Big Boss
Shweta won the fourth season of the popular reality TV show Big Boss in 2011,adding another feather to her cap. 'I had packed clothes for a month, post which I was seen in borrowed jackets and T-shirts. I had not expected to win,but I did, so it was great!' she says. How difficult was it to survive through the back-biting and politics in the closed house? 'I was clear from the beginning that my mother and my daughter are going to watch the show. So there was no name-calling and gaalis from my end. Was everything that was shown on TV real? 'See this is the age of smart editing.The fact is that there was both love and animosity,' she states.
On A Break
Shweta says that she is thoroughly enjoying her "me-time" after working for 15 years. Shweta now monitors "everything" - from seeing that Palak has a proper breakfast to helping Abhinav with his work in his publishing house Palak And Punia Entertainment Pvt.Ltd. Doesn't she fear going out of public memory? Shweta recalls a chance conversation with the woman security guard at her building. 'She warned me that I should take up work, varna logbhool jayenge aapko!' (people might forget you). Perturbed, I discussed this with Abhinav who said that people will love you only for the characters you play. Only your family will love you as the real "Shweta".' And that's what matters most to this actor who has, in her33 years of living, seen more ups and downs than several people see in their lifetimes.