‘Kalyug’ actor Ssmilley Suri on her comeback and OTT plans

‘Kalyug’ girl Ssmilley Suri made her acting debut nearly two decades ago with Kunal Kemmu in the film, which was directed by her brother Mohit Suri. Ssmilley is the niece of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and a cousin of Emraan Hashmi, Pooja and Alia Bhatt. After getting a dream debut in the 2005 film, Ssmilley featured in a few projects, but was not visible on screen for a long period of time.

Now, she is making a comeback on the screen with her debut OTT series, ‘House of Lies’, which stars Sanjay Kapoor, Hiten Paintal, late Rituraj Singh, and others. The series premiered on ZEE5 this week. In a freewheeling interaction with Adgully, Ssmilley Suri speaks about her comeback, belonging to a family of achievers, and much more.

What made you come out of acting asceticism?

I was not actually away from acting. I was doing theatre. I was teaching pole dancing. I was also doing a play called ‘Ghadgat Mein Panchi Bolta Hai’ by Smita Bharti ji. I was doing television. But I hadn’t had an opportunity to work with the new OTT medium. When the time was right, I got the right offer and it just happened to be during the Covid period. So, I was never out of acting. I love acting and I will always love it.

How was it to face the camera after a long time?

It was good fun – the whole new set-up, new cameras, the new technical stuff, the young directors and everything. The key of acting has changed. It is very normal now. So, it was very assuring. It was nice. It was great fun.

Did you miss working? Would you want to continue working on more projects?

Of course, I am. I love it. I want to do a lot of OTT work, and hopefully you will see me doing a lot of OTT work. I have really missed it, and hopefully I am back for good. In our time, there was no Instagram, and there were no Reels and stuff, even songs like ‘Jia Dhadak Dhadak Jaye’ from ‘Kalyug’ and all became famous very organically. But now there are so many more portals and so many more vehicles, so I hope to do a lot of OTT work.

Unfortunately, this is one of the last few works of actor Rituraj Singh. How was it to work with him? 

Rituraj sir was something else! He had so much energy and he taught us so much. He was a rock star. Whatever happened, he made sure that we all met at night and partied together. He would live one day at a time, and just bring so much happiness around and be so helpful to all his co-actors, and especially me. He was so sweet and so generous. I feel it is his soul that has granted us this release and he is watching over us.

You come from a family of talented artists, does it put any kind of pressure on you?

Honestly, it doesn’t put any kind of pressure on me, but sometimes it does not. Because I mean, of course they are all super achievers. However, I know I will make it in my time, but I just feel that sometimes I feel I could have been dealt better cards, but then that is their karma. I also feel, when the time is right for someone, everything works out. So, I’m hoping my time has come now.