A chat with Sunidhi Chauhan reaffirmed my belief to pursue acting: Nancy Gill

Hailing from Chandigarh, air hostess turned actress Nancy Gill has had a roller coaster journey so far. While it was her childhood dream to become an actor, Nancy couldn’t muster the courage at first to convince her family. Therefore, she opted for a career in international airlines as she thought coming from a strict defence upbringing it would be more acceptable to her family. But, as fate would have it, she found just the right inspiration that she needed when she least expected it.

It was during her stint as an air hostess that a chance encounter with the noted Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan reinvigorated her resolve to follow her childhood dream of becoming an actress. “On one of the flights, I happened to meet Sunidhi Chauhan. It was after a chat with her that I had a realisation how she was pursuing her love for singing which reaffirmed my belief. I finally decided to inform my family about my decision to pursue acting. After I finally got their consent, I came to Mumbai where I did my first TV show ‘Chidiyaghar’. Soon after I got an offer for a daily soap called ‘Neeli Chatri Waale’ and it was then I decided to quit my job,” reveals Gill who is an avid reader and likes to practice Meisner and Stephen Book techniques in order to make a character come alive.

After getting the acting break, Nancy was quick to realise the importance of honing her craft. So she started her training focused around various skills that she felt were needed to become a better performer. “As a student, I participated in all possible extra-curricular activities and used to regularly take part in various plays. I had great interest in street and stage plays. I also did many plays in Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. After making a foray into the world of acting, I started taking workshops with acting-coach Saurabh Sachdeva. Also, I trained in Kathak in Mumbai and worked as crew intern in Baaghi 2. Then I also underwent a yearlong training in Kalaripattyu, which is an Indian martial art, in Goa,” recollects Nancy who also got a chance to work with the likes of Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar in TV commercials fairly early in her acting career.

Nancy currently finds herself in a very interesting space. She recently played a cop in the Hungama Play series ‘Shubh Mangal Mein Dangal’. “I play the part of city’s top cop in the series. My character happens to be the elder sister of Ada Khan’s character. I will also be doing a Punjabi film in my home state soon. We are in the final stage of talks,” reveals Gill. As she climbs the ladder of success, Nancy regrets that her father is no longer around to see her success. “Sadly, my father passed away by the time my acting career started shaping up. I am sure he would have been proud of me,” says Gill who will next she will be essaying the part of a bar girl in one of her upcoming projects.