A wife, mother, co-founder of a web series channel, the content creator- Actress Chhavi Mittal wears these hats and many more. From being a television actress and an anchor to being the founder and leading content creator of popular YouTube channel Shitty Ideas Trending (SIT), her journey has been remarkable.
Chhavi Mittal credits her success to her dedication and perseverance for her work, along with her support from family and director husband Mohit Hussein.
Chhavi MittalChhavi Mittal and Mohit Hussein created Shitty Ideas Trending (SIT) in the year 2005 when they decided to contribute to the entertainment world through social media in the form of engaging videos and posts.
The channel regularly features popular web series and humorous episodes on the nitty-gritty of daily life. The best part of the posts is that anyone can relate to them as they highlight the regularities of life.
Questioner with Chhavi Mittal
Voice of Woman caught up with the popular film and television actress to talk about her journey, her family, her interests, and the ongoing lockdown:
Tell us about your journey as an actress
My journey as an actress has been long. I came to Mumbai in the year 2004 and have worked with all the major networks in the TV industry.
I’ve done a few films also and have moderated and hosted shows. I even worked with the networks which no longer exist. It has been a long ride.
Was acting your first career choice? What made you choose it?
Acting was not my first career choice. I always wanted to be a singer. I am a pretty good singer; at least I was. I started singing on TV, and during that time, whoever I met also told me that I should consider modeling or some sort of screen presence as well. And that way, modeling just happened, and after that, acting was the next step.
What inspires you?
I draw inspiration from everything that happens around me. I draw inspiration from stories I hear about real people achieving big things and their journey. It inspires me.
I get the most inspiration from people who work hard and excel in their respective fields, even if it’s an electrician who is a genius at his work or a carpenter who can make an excellent piece of furniture.
Shitty Ideas Trending (SIT) has incredible content. Tell us the brainchild behind the exciting ideas and the web series
SIT came into existence because my husband and I wanted to do something together. We wanted to take a break from the very hectic life of television, be our bosses, and wanted to spend time with our first daughter Areeza. The idea of launching the YouTube channel was mine.
But that’s about it! All the designs in posts you see, we think together. Most of the humor featured on the channel comes from Mohit, he has a great sense of humor, and he’s a brilliant writer.
How do you manage your time between work and family?
Managing time is easy if you have a routine. That is the only way one can manage time. If there’s no routine, then there’s no time management. The first thing that I do is I make a routine like there is a specific time for a particular work. If we are not able to finish a task at that specified time, we do it the next day. However, I don’t let my work, my home, and personal life overlap each other, try to keep them separate.
What are the challenges you face in your work if any?
The only challenge is we are a small team and a lot of things that we do we divide between the both of us. The biggest challenge at work is to find the right people or hire the right people who are competent and professional. I think that’s the challenge most of the people or any company faces.
Tell us about your interests other than acting
I love singing, though I don’t do professional singing. I feel that my interest is in content creation. I love the work that I do, so I don’t need another hobby to keep myself occupied or to take my mind off things. I love doing what I do- I love social media, and I love creating posts, static tools, and video posts. I love thinking of ideas and how to market them. I’m happy doing what I do.
During your pregnancy with your second child, Arham Hussein, and after his birth, you regularly posted much inspirational feed for women and mothers in particular. Was it because many women reached out to you, or you felt the need to motivate fellow mothers?
To be honest, I didn’t give it much thought. I didn’t think about it so much before writing something. Because then it just becomes something considered as you cannot write something keeping your audience in mind, then it will never come from the heart. I follow my heart, and I found many people who related to that and wanted to hear what I have to say, so I just continued with expressing my thoughts and experiences even today.
Chhavi MittalHow are you spending time at the present state of countrywide lockdown?
I am using this time to cook, and I’m preparing some exciting dishes every day. I also love cleaning the house. I think only you can clean your home the way you wanted; no staff can do that for you.
I also love spending time with my kids a lot, and they are both thrilled that I’m able to spend so much time at home. I’m also picking out sometime during the day to think of new ideas and to write new scripts, and hopefully, once the lockdown is over, we will have many things written down, which we will just shoot.
You are also an avid fitness person and regularly post fitness videos. Tell us about your regular fitness schedule.
The fitness schedule is rigorous for me. There are times that I feel sluggish to follow the schedule, but I make it a point that if I’m missing one day, I’ll catch up on the weekend with it.
I work out five days a week, and I give my body two days of rest. I spend a minimum of one hour every day working out. I plan my working out time in such a way that Arham (Chhavi mittal’s son) is asleep at that time, and Areeza joins me in my workout. Arreza loves to do some funny things when I am working out. I feel that for any kind of routine or discipline in life, fitness is most important. If you are disciplined about your fitness and health, you become disciplined in every other sphere of life. I take my fitness very seriously.
Chhavi MittalDespite being a progressive society, many women still today are stopped from pursuing their dreams and choosing their dream career choices. What are your thoughts on that?
I agree with that. I thought I didn’t believe this, and I thought it wasn’t true that women are stopped from following their dreams. Because I wasn’t like that- I had the luxury and fortune to be able to pursue my dreams and to be able to achieve what I wanted to. But I started realizing that women aren’t allowed to chase their dreams when I received messages from other women on my social media. I was quite shocked at what I heard and what other women go through. There are many events where I speak, and when we do the Q & A session, the questions that women ask are quite disturbing.
I believe that situations like those, have to be tackled as an individual, and every woman has the strength and the power within her to stand up for themselves. I firmly believe in destiny; you can create your fate if you think of doing something. And when you set out to achieve that, you automatically create a path for yourself for the future. It’s all about determination and will power more than anything else if you have that kind of willpower than you should try.
Which is your favorite hideout in the globe?
I love going to any quiet and calm beach destination. I don’t like crowded places at all. As I am in the business of social media, you are constantly in the eye. There are always a lot of people who are always with you on your journey. So when I want to take time off, I love to go to a secluded beach with just my husband, my family. I want to go to some of the best beaches in the world when I have the time, which is not possible right now.
What is your favorite getaway place in India?
In India, I love going to Goa now and then. There are many secluded and calm beaches in Goa with great resorts, so Goa yes.
Chhavi MittalAny message that you want to convey to the women and your fans reading this
To the women and the fans reading this, I just want to tell you that you have a lot of power and potential in you. It’s only a matter of time to realize it, and once you understand the potential, never shy away from it, act upon it and go about achieving your dreams always.