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Mallika Chhabra opened up about how she first started acting. She also refuted claims of an ego battle between Varun Dhawan and Rohit Saraf, calling the reports fictional.

Mallika Chhabra plays Nisha in the film.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tusli Kumari actor Mallika Chhabra was only 11 years old when she decided, “It’s very difficult to make friends.” As a young kid who switched schools nearly every year, she found it hard to stay connected to people. But quick-witted as she is, she noticed that all her schools around the world had four clubs in common- music, dance, sports and drama. Mallika found her anchor in theatre.
In an exclusive conversation with News18, Mallika says, “It was like a roulette that I played with myself. I went for the drama club when I was 11; every school I went to, if you had history doing drama in the previous school, they just accepted you.”
Before she could realise, she had been doing theatre for a decade. She says, “It happened to me because I wanted to make friends. It’s a funny thing. Then, before I knew it, I just fell in love with the craft, and here we are.” Mallika was seen as Nisha in the Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor film.
One couldn’t have guessed this about the Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari actress. She is vivacious and bright- two qualities that were evident even in a 10-minute role in the finale of Karmma Calling. This brief appearance soon led to a role in the Dharma film, directed by Shashank Khaitan.
Mallika recalls, “Shashank had known of me socially, but he saw Karmma Calling and reached out for a meeting at the Dharma office. He said, ‘Even though it was a 5-10 minute role, something clicked when I saw you in Karmma Calling, and I wanted to figure out a way to work together.’”
Although Mallika took up acting to fit in and make friends, on the Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari set, she found a new “family”. Working together while living at a luxury hotel for a month can do that to people. “It’s only my first big project, but even experienced actors like Varun (Dhawan) and Janhvi (Kapoor) felt that this was the most wholesome set.”
The actress even found a therapist in Varun Dhawan. She mentions, “There were moments where it wasn’t Varun’s scene, but he would just come on set and try to help everybody get the best out of their scenes. I think, more than anything else, Varun was my therapist.”
Mallika’s first scene for the film was a song shoot, and being on a “grand Dharma set” seemed intimidating at first. “I remember going to Varun, and I’m like, ‘I hope everything goes well.’ He was like a therapist mixed with a friend. He was really there for me if at any moment I was second-guessing anything,” she explains.
She adds, “Even Sanya (Malhotra) and Janhvi are so good at their craft. I used to go on set every day just to watch them. And Rohit (Saraf) is also such a sweetheart. Rohit is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.”
When Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari was released, several reports claimed that there was an ongoing ‘ego clash’ between Varun and Rohit- the two heroes of the film. However, Mallika refutes these claims and calls them “fictional”. She says, “A lot of things are misconstrued and doctored.”
Mallika explains, “It’s all manufactured, and I’m sure it doesn’t impact our cast in any form. There was a crew of 200 people staying together; you can ask anyone. There was no concept of ego clashes because this film was made in a very collaborative way, and Varun and Rohit are amazing people. Everybody had each other’s backs.”
“Varun is one of the most secure people I have ever met in my life. Everyone was secure about what they brought to the table. Everyone loves to gossip, but none of it is true. It might seem interesting to hear, but filmmaking is a collaborative process. At the end of the day, it’s a workplace, so everyone has to be nice and respectful,” the actress says.
In fact, Mallika says, the cast and crew even held space for her to share her opinions as a newcomer. She mentions, “I was keen on seeing what I can bring to the table. There was so much space created for me, even though I’m new to the industry. From Shashank to the rest of the actors, everyone valued what I brought to the table. I never felt any pressure; I had a lot of support around me.”
With Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari still running in theatres, Mallika is also focused on her upcoming projects, including Karmma Calling season 2. Having worked with co-stars like Raveena Tandon, Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, to name a few, Mallika now hopes for projects with Kalki Koechlin and Abhay Deol.

Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-…Read More
Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-… Read More
October 20, 2025, 11:58 IST