Luck by Chance: Smriti Kalra talks about how she landed her new podcast Malang Ishq

Actor Smriti Kalra has done a lot of things- acting (duh!), been an RJ, model, television roles, and a film as well. However, she marks a new first with her stint as Rohini in Audible’s new podcast, Malang Ishq.

Ask her how it happened, and she smiles as she shares that it was a little bit of God’s grace and a little bit of luck. Though she was somewhat hesitant as this was her first attempt at audio storytelling, what gave her confidence were the many compliments that she had received for her voice during her time as an RJ.

“The idea of using just my voice to emote and bring a character to life was so interesting, that I don’t think any artist would miss an opportunity like this,” smiles Kalra. But what also pushed her to get out of her comfort zone and do this, was how passionate the story was, and how female-oriented it was, says Kalra.

Kalra explains that while she went into it thinking that emoting through her voice would play a huge role, she discovered just how important voice modulation, enunciation, voice texture, and other such things were.

But she did face any roadblocks while working on this podcast? “Roadblocks, more like mindblocks,” laughs Kalra. Just as the name suggests, Malang Ishq is high on drama, passion, and love, and required her to vocally portray love-making scenes. She laughs that this is something she wouldn’t have even thought of attempting in the visual medium. Says Kalra, “I had to record for those segments in a studio with someone I had just met, and three other people sitting across the glass pane. What made it more challenging was that since it was audio storytelling, everything had to be ten times more intense for it sound convincing to the listeners.”

Another challenge she faced was adding a touch of graininess to her voice, for the character Rohini was not only older but also more mature than Kalra.

Kalra also talks about how Malang Ishq gave her the opportunity to try on a character that was more layered than the usual happy-go-lucky, shy, or love-lorn prototypes. “Rohini is carefree with her lover, underconfident and insecure with her husband, gullible with her step-daughter, and goes to extremes when the murder comes to the forefront in this romantic-crime thriller,” says Kalra.

The actor believes that though she is someone who has always viewed the entertainment industry wearing rose-tinted glasses, she’s also had her fair share of struggles. “Because I want to try on different things, I’ve taken more breaks than I’ve worked,” laughs she. But perseverance and persistence can take you a long way, she says.

She is glad that her first podcast was with Audible, because they pampered her to no end during the recordings, she shares with a wide grin. What she really appreciated was the work ethic of the team, the execution of the project, and how timely they were when it came to money matters. “Malang Ishq is immersive, entertaining, and it lets your imagination go wild without increasing your screen time. So just enjoy it,” says Kalra to her fans.