11 August,2011 09:43 AM IST | | Payal Kamat Samant
Where there's a will, there's a way, says Aarti Chabria. The lady, who's on a new high after winning a action-adventure reality show talks to CS, about how her impression as a delicate darling helped her achieve her goalu00a0-- the title of the winner:
Who: Aarti Chabria
What: Talking about her life's recent adventures
Where: At her residence
Last but not the least
I was one of the last contestants to get on board of the show, so I hardly got any time to prepare myself. But the moment I confirmed, I started training in earnest as I had this burning desire to win. Before I went to Cape Town, I started a grueling fitness regime -- cycling at 6am, full day workouts followed with swimming. I would be dead tired by night, but I knew that I had to prepare to survive the stiff competition. I took mountain climbing training and practised how to jump from great heights from a pirate ship at Aamby Valley and also how to dive from a speed boat that was running at a very high speed. I kept all of this a secret as I didn't want anyone to know that I was preparing for the show. My image of a delicate darling worked to my advantage, as everyone considered me as an underdog. So, it felt great when I came out as the winner.
Rough and tough
These 22 days of hardcore training and performance have disciplined me a lot. There were no mobile phones, no other gadgets, nothing when we were on the stunt sites. The experience of roughing it out has made me tougher and has helped me overcome my fear of fire, darkness and claustrophobia. There was a stunt where I was buried in a coffin with hundred rats under heaps of sand. I felt like I was never going to come out of the coffin, which led to breathlessness. And to add to it, the rats were all over my body sniffing; it took me days to shake off the wet sensation! I kept chanting the Hanuman Chalisa like a possessed woman.
On a break
When I came back from the schedule, I slept endlessly and then went for a holiday to Kulu Manali with my family. I'm once again considering films; offers are pouring in and many of them are for action-oriented roles. But I don't want to take up anything just for the sake of it. In our films, the protagonist rarely gets action packed roles like in Charlie's Angels, so until something like that comes up, I'll start work on others. Right now I'm having a great time learning hip-hop. I've worked all my life, right since I was a kid, so it's time to have some fun as well. What say?
