Tina

Tina is one of the few British Asians to make it to the Indian television fraternity and is all set to appear in the Indian TV soap ‘Ek Aastha Aisi Bhee’.
Indian dramas are watched by millions across the world and their popularity in recent years has outstripped Bollywood.

Tina had been in India for two years before she finally got her break.

She said: “I feel ecstatic. The journey has been amazing and I feel extremely privileged to get a lead role and be associated with such an esteemed channel such as Star Plus. 

“I hope my journey inspires young girls and boys back home who aspire to become actors to follow their dreams and not give up.

“I am a chartered accountant by profession and to leave my family, a well-paid job, my school and university friends back home was an extremely difficult decision to take. 

“I have always wanted to become an actress though and so my passion for the craft brought me to Mumbai. 

“I spent two years in the city before I landed this role. 

“During this time I attended a lot of auditions and coming from a non-film background with no contacts and no relatives in this city was initially difficult. But like they say, ‘if you really want something the universe conspires to help you achieve it’.”

The new drama ‘Ek Aastha Aisi Bhee’ is about a young woman, Aastha, played by Tina, who believes in the goodness of the heart over the godliness of rituals and traditions. 

The drama describes Aastha as someone who doesn’t believe in going to religious institutions such as temples, mosques or churches however she sees doing good deeds as a way of coming closer to God.

She is a selfless girl who goes out of her way to be kind and generous to everyone around her.

Tina went to Ladybridge High School in Bolton and then graduated with a maths degree from the University of Manchester.

She worked as an auditor for Grant Thornton, a leading accountancy firm in Manchester but her passions was always to act.

While studying, she had also been part of Contact Theatre in Manchester where she performed in several productions before heading off to Mumbai.

But while films may beckon in the future she is keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

She said: “This is my first role as a lead serial artist and I feel extremely grateful to my parents and my friends who have have been my strength throughout this journey.”

“I do not think films is necessarily the next step after television. As an actor all I look for is a good role and a good script, be it television, movies or a web series. Moreover, a lot of movie stars come on various TV shows to promote their films. 

Her dad Philip Kochitty said: “We are obviously very proud of Tina’s achievements.
“She has had many auditions and for her to land this role is really good.

“Her education always came first but her passion was always acting and we supported her as much as we could.”

Popular TV actor Kanwar Dhillon, best known for his roles in ‘Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha Season 2’ and ‘Piya Rangrezz’ will be the male lead, Shiv. Abhinav Kapoor who plays Shiv’s brother will play the parallel male lead Balwan. 

The other star cast includes noted TV actors including Manasi Salvi, Vivek Mushran and Manisha Dave, Hemant Choudhary, Anita Kulkarni, Sharanpreet Kaur, Lilly Patel, Supriya Sarna, Nikhil Sharma, Ambika Soni, Palak Purswani, Mayank Sharma and Sameeksha Sud.

‘Ek Aastha Aisi Bhee airs on April 3 at 1.30pm on Star Plus.