Desi Today Magazine
Ayushi Chhabra is an Indian born actor who is currently pursuing her dreams of making it big in the entertainment industry. In 2020, Ayushi debuted on American Television, as the alien character ‘Pel’ on CBS’s hit series – ‘Star Trek : Picard. She also landed a US National Television commercial campaign for U.S. Census 2020. In addition to that, Ayushi was recently awarded ‘Best Leading Performance’ for her role as ‘Parnita’ in her 2019 film, ‘Unborn’, by Uptown Women’s Film Festival of New York.
She has also done national and international commercials for A-list brands like Google, Motorola, Samsung, GAP, Emirates, Hyatt, State Farm, Vitamix, Snapchat, Facebook, Target, Walmart, Apple and many more. In fall of 2020, Chhabra’s much awaited feature film, ‘919’, will be hitting theatres. Impressive and successful, Ayushi’s journey may appear on the surface, but when you dig deep you will discover a long story of struggle, rejections and perseverance. Ayushi’s story is extremely inspiring for all those who struggle for years to find a breakthrough in their career but face rejections at every step. This young actor has gone through many rejections before she made it big internationally. In an interview with Desi Today she talks about her work and offers tips to those who want to enter the show biz.
Please tell us something about yourself and your childhood.
I am originally from a small town in India called Ghaziabad. It’s close to Delhi. That’s where I was born. I was two when my parents and I moved to Nigeria. We stayed there for 7 years and then moved to South Africa. My parents are very hard-working, humble and simple people. My dad has worked in the same job for over 15 years, just to able to afford us a good lifestyle and the best education. My brother and I owe everything we have, to him and my mom.
How and when did you decide to become part of the entertainment industry?
Blame it on Bollywood! (lol) I decided I want to be an actress the day I saw my first movie in a theater. It was 11, the movie was Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and I just loved Kajol. After that day, my whole life has been committed to performing, whether on stage, in plays, in pageants, everywhere I could. Once I graduated from university in my early 20s, I moved to LA and there was no looking back.
Tell us something about your career trajectory and how did you land the role in Star Trek series?
I started acting professionally at the age of 24. I booked a lot of work commercially and even in print. I also did a couple short films to build experience. But I did not book anything big in terms of Film and TV, for six years. And when I did my first TV job, they cut me out of the final edit. But finally, in 2020, I got a co-star on Star Trek, a Telugu feature film, 2 national commercials and after so many years, it felt like things were looking up.
Did you have to struggle a lot to get a breakthrough?
Yes, a lot. I did hundreds of auditions over the course of six years. I struggled with my American accent – I always sounded too Indian or just different. I battled with anxiety and nerves. And many times, I would come so close to getting something huge and they would give it to someone else.
How did you inspire yourself to struggle further and not to give up when things did not seem going in right direction?
I looked at my parents and their relentless pursuit to give me and my brother everything we ever dreamed of. If they can do it, with a language and cultural barrier then I can do it. If you want to do something extraordinary in your life, it will require extraordinary effort and resilience, even when you are hurt deeply, even when you don’t have much courage. We only fail, when we let ourselves fail.
Please tell us something more about your role in the movie. The Star Trek actors are always known for your unique make-up. How was the entire experience.
I booked the TV show Star Trek : Picard but yes would love to do the movie too! I had to sit in prosthetics for 4 to 5 hours as my character was that of a pregnant alien by the name of ‘Pel’. They gave me a large forehead and ears, trademark Romulan brows and a wig in addition to a very big belly. It was a very interesting process and the experience of it all was just phenomenal.
What advice do you have for the new South Asian origin actors who want to crack an audition for a role in a TV serial or a movie?
My biggest advice is to invest in yourself, as you would be in a business. Be the CEO of your brand. Get good headshots, good experience, build a great team of agents and hustle every single day, even when you think you’ve made it.
As a 30-year-old Indian woman, are you pressured to get married? How do you handle it?
Yes all the time. But I think it is important to take your time instead of feeling pressured to make the wrong decision and potentially ruining your life and someone else’s. I am completely open to dating, meeting new people but only I will know when I’ve met the one. No one can decide that for me and no one should decide that for anyone.
Do you think the stigma of being single at the age of 30 and pursuing a career in acting still remains with-in the South Asian communities? What is your message for the young South Asian working women?
Yes, we fight those stigmas every single day. But I think we need to be the change that we wish to see in the world. We need to stop judging each other and support each other’s dreams and goals. Otherwise the ‘log kya Kahenge’ stigma will never go away. We need to ask ourselves what’s more important – people or a your own happiness?
What are your next projects?
I am very excited that my film UNBORN will be out on Amazon Prime Video very soon. It tackles a very important subject of female feticide which is shockingly still very prevalent in the Indian culture and it was written and directed by an Indian woman so I am really looking forward to its release. And my Telugu feature film 919 will be out this summer. And it’s my Bollywood dream come true so can’t wait for everyone to watch it.
— Compiled by Surbhi Gogia
