The many hats that Arista Mehta wears at just 16

She may be just 16 years old, but Arista Mehta has been making a name for herself as a YouTuber and as an actress. Arista is playing the lead character of Nandini in a show on SonyLiv, titled ‘Pehla Pyaar <1% Chance’, which is a teenage love story that takes place in a school. She has also been a part of movies like ‘Sharmaji Ki Beti’, ‘Baramulla’, web series ‘The Night Manager’, and many others.

In conversation with Adgully, Arista Mehta speaks exclusively about her latest show, handling popularity, censorship on social media, and much more.

How do you choose your projects? 

Honestly, my mother is the one who actually chooses them. But even if I were to choose them, I know how she thinks about it. First of all, it definitely has to be age appropriate. I cannot be playing someone who is too old or someone who is too young, but something that goes with my age. The script has to be something that the audience might like. It can’t be something which you yourself can’t watch.

Is it easier for you to get work since you are quite popular on YouTube?

Obviously it is easier. For instance, sometimes I don’t have to give auditions. Sometimes I directly get calls from the production house or maybe the director. But we also have to keep in mind that I have started from zero to reach here. It is not as easy as people think. For my role in ‘Pehla Pyaar <1% Chance’, I gave an audition and went through the whole process. I am not as privileged, just because I am famous; I’ve had to world towards it. At the end of the day, your work speaks for you. If you’re good enough, you will get the role.

When did you realise that you can create content?

I started creating content during the Covid lockdown period just as time pass. I think everyone was doing this in the lockdown period. I think social media now is a very big platform for people to create careers. There are so many people sitting at home and making money from it. I personally enjoy doing creating content, it’s not like a compulsion to create content. So, it has always been very fun for me to create content for social media, Instagram, etc.

How do you handle your work and you studies together?

I started off when I was ten years old, in my fifth grade. I believe when you want to do something, if there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s as simple as that and not complicated. When you know that you are going to be an actor, you prepare yourself for it. I personally know 100% that I will do something in this industry. So, I knew how much time to give to my acting career and how much time to devote to my studies. My parents also never had too many expectations. So, that also was a very big factor.

How do you take precautions while creating content?

If I am not educated about some topic completely, then I will not go on social media and speak about it. I have never spoken about something political or religious. I will not speak about it later in life as well, but if I will have good information and knowledge about politics, I will speak about it. People might not like everything that I put up, but I cannot do anything about it. It will be my opinion. But right now, honestly, I don’t have an opinion.

Do you think there should be some kind of restrictions or censorship on social media?

There should be some kind of restrictions. There has to be a limit to everything.  I think Instagram does have censorship and they do take down things that should not be out on social media. I think this is a very subjective topic. I feel you should go ahead and do it, but you also need to draw a line somewhere. There are certain things that are wrong and are not meant for social media. You shouldn’t post those things.

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