Kiss & tell

Tanisha Bhattacharya meets Anya Singh, who is making waves with the OTT show Never Kiss Your Best Friend

- Anya Singh

Anya Singh hails from Delhi. She had a natural affinity for dance and was always performing in front of her friends and neighbours at the behest of her parents. After finishing high school, she enrolled in a college in Rajasthan, where she first considered becoming a professional actor. She wanted to move to Mumbai. Her parents said no at first, then they gave her a year after graduation to pursue her dreams. The city proved completely alien to her. "I initially just felt very lost, alone, and lonely because I'd left my friends and family behind. It took me a while to adjust to the new reality."

After doing a round of auditions, she landed her first ad, which was for a shampoo brand. She also landed a role in the short film Lex Talionis (2016), a revenge drama. She landed her first feature film, Qaidi Band (2017), by chance. She ran into casting agent Shanoo Sharma at a coffee shop. Shanoo took a liking to her and asked her if she was interested in being tested for something. "She told me to come to her office tomorrow. I was given a long monologue from Pyaar Ka Punchnama to recite. I must have done something right as I found myself being selected for the Qaidi Band."