Karishma Kotak talks about her journey from wanting to become a teacher, to being a TV presenter and actor

Karishma Kotak started off as a model, later got into anchoring and eventually became an actor. But if she were to pick a favourite, here’s what it would be: “For me, being a presenter on television comes before anything.” Having earned fame after appearing on season 6 of reality show Bigg Boss, and subsequently the IPL cricket series as a presenter, she is loving the fact that she has been receiving offers for films, too.

“Firrkie [her next film] opposite Karan Singh Grover and Neil Nitin Mukesh, just fell in my lap, Freaky Ali [with Nawazuddin Siddiqui; 2016] was a lovely cameo. My focus, however, will be on anchoring. I thoroughly enjoy it, and I don’t think there’s any place like a stadium, with 50,000 people screaming, and not just for cricket, it could be boxing or kabaddi. Sports is something I really enjoy. I am lucky I get to do it.”

From where did this interest in sports stem from? “At the age of 21, I wanted to be a teacher. Then I did my degree in advertising and marketing. I initially just wanted to pursue modelling for a year in Mumbai, but that one year has become 12 years today. I did a lot of travel shows, and then Bigg Boss happened. It was only after the show, that IPL happened ,” she says.

But she admits that it wasn’t (and even now isn’t) easy. “I remember my first time hosting a cricket match. I had never done television before, but once you have done LIVE TV, you can do anything; you won’t have any stage fright. You could be talking to anybody, and a wicket fall will happen. You might have prepared questions for Virat Kohli, but Chris Gayle could come. You need to be on your toes all the time since you couldn’t be having the necessary information on your hand,” adds Karishma, who was also seen in the 2016 Punjabi film Kaptaan.

Strangely, Karishma hasn’t done any fiction till now. Has that been a conscious decision or a lack of good offers? “I would love to do a fiction show, but in the web space, maybe like 100 episodes. I don’t think I would be able to commit to a longer show, with my cricket,” she says.

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