Mouni Roy: My friends have made me an agony aunt

From Naagin to Brahmastra Mouni Roy has shone in fantasy offerings But now the actor is trading the fantasy world for one that is driven by love fidelity and temptations Roy will be seen as the Queen of Hearts on her first digital reality show Temptation Island The JioCinema show is an adaptation of its international version of the same name In conversation with midday the actor talks about relationships marriage and how her nonjudgmental nature makes her perfect to play an advisor on the showEdited excerpts from the interviewWhy did you take up Temptation IslandI have a good understanding of peoplersquos emotions and relationships Since I was a little girl my friends or relatives would always seek my advice They probably thought I had an unbiased opinion Even now I get latenight calls from my friends when they need my perspective I have seen the international format of the show Itrsquos a social experiment to see how couples deal with temptation When I was asked to be the Queen of Hearts I had no reason to turn it down I was initially nervous But now that I have shot for two weeks Irsquove found my feetRelationships are hard why complicate it by involving a third partyTempters are a format of the show Most couples who come to the show are in some sort of conflict either the relationship is not going anywhere or theyrsquove been together for 11 years and donrsquot know if they wish to be together or not On the show you get to see if the relationship is strong enough I believe when the relationship is strong there is no space for a third personIsnrsquot it better to consult a relationship counsellorThat choice lies with the people participating When JioCinema bought the rights to the format there were so many couples who wanted to participate That itself shows their preferenceAt any point in those two weeks did you feel let down by trivial disputesRelationships are complicated I am nonjudgmental that is why I find myself being a good fit in the mix Everyone comes from a different background their upbringing is different so I canrsquot be talking to everyone uniformly My first day of shooting was nervewracking because I didnrsquot know them at all I handled it well eventuallyDid you have a script to followThe show cannot be scripted You donrsquot know how they will behave or what they will sayWould you call yourself an agony auntI think I am one laughs My friends have made me one over the yearsHow do you resolve a conflictWhen I was younger I used to be very emotional With a lot of meditation and selfwork Irsquove reached a place where if there is a problem I try to find a solution Of course I have arguments with my husband but we talk it out I think after marriage something changes you know you have to be with this person for the rest of your life so there is no point fighting Itrsquos easy to move on after a fight once you are married If you hold on to it I have realised that you hurt yourself more than the other personGiven the opportunity would you be part of the showI cannot be part of the show because I am married Itrsquos a prerequisite for the participants to be datingDo you think Brahmstra changed the way the industry looked at youIt gave me a lot of respect People knew that I could act but when they saw me play Junoon they appreciated it My character wasnrsquot shouting or screaming I was wearing an outlandish garb and I was a bit nervous because my dialogues were in shudh Hindi So I didnrsquot know how people would react The audiencersquos acceptance and love overwhelmed me