Hina Khan says she always wanted to be a journalist: ‘I was a huge Barkha Dutt fan’

Hina Khan has been in the entertainment industry for 13 years. However, she recently revealed that instead of being an actor, she always wanted to become a journalist like her inspiration Barkha Dutt. Hina shared that acting for her happened by chance. Also Read| Hina Khan: Cannes felt like a mela. I thought, ‘Wahan jaake aag lagani hai’

Hina made her acting debut in 2009 with the Star Plus TV show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which starred her as the lead Akshara Singhania. She played the role for eight years before quitting it in 2016 to pursue other projects. She recently recalled how her friends had pushed her to audition for the show.

She told Curly Tales YouTube channel, “I don’t think I wanted to become an actor. I wanted to become a journalist, always. I was a huge Barkha Dutt fan. But destiny had some other plans. Auditions were happening in Delhi and I gave the audition, my friends kind of forced me. I got selected in the first round, then they asked me to come to Bombay, I cleared all the rounds and I started shooting. So this is how acting happened for me.”

Hina also recalled working at a call centre sometime before she landed her acting job. She said, “Some girls I knew in my PG used to work at a call centre, and they used to make good money. They said ‘we just call people and tell them to pay your debt.’ I said ‘bas? dhamkana hai, hadkana hai? (You just have to threaten them, berate them)? I can do it.’ Over there also, the first month I was the highest collector on the floor. My first cheque was 45,000. My salary was 250000 but I got 45,000 with incentives because I made such a good collection. I would tell them my sob stories that if you will not pay they will throw me out. I have done all of this. I was very naughty. If acting didn’t happen, maybe I still would have been there at some post, or something else.”

After Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Hina participated in reality shows Khatron Ke Khiladi and Bigg Boss. She also played Komolika, the antagonist in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, and has appeared in films like Smartphone, Hacked, and Unlock among others.