A singer, model, actor, anchor, thespian, entrepreneur -- there is nothing that Durga Jasraj hasn't tried her hand at, except tennis maybe, she jokes. But she feels that all these experiences have come in handy

Gaga over Durga

A singer, model, actor, anchor, thespian, entrepreneuru00a0-- there is nothing that Durga Jasraj hasn't tried her hand at, except tennis maybe, she jokes. But she feels that all these experiences have come in handy.

Busy with her own company Art and Artistes that's now gearing up for the Indian Music Academy Awards, the legendary Pandit Jasraj's daughter talks to CS about why she didn't follow in her father's footsteps:

The road less travelled
My father always thought that I would make a career in classical music, so when I didn't, it almost came to him as a shock. I remember that we were all set to leave on a tour when I decided to back out.

He very patiently told me that I could join him after a few days if I wasn't comfortable performing immediately. He was quite taken aback when I said that I wanted to try something completely different. By the time he came back after three months, I had shed 15 kilos.

That's when I got my first modelling assignment. Then I decided that I wanted to become a producer. Everyday I would go with concepts to a TV channel's office. They got so tired of telling me that there was no such opening that they eventually gave me anchoring as a bargain. That's how Antakshari happened.

Anchored!
The reason I did that show was because I wanted to be taken seriously. By the time I wrapped it up in 1998, I was in a position to start my own company and I've never looked back since.

Yes there are days when I feel that I am overworked, but I am privileged to be pursuing my passion. Believe it or not, I still get offers every other day to act in mainstream TV serials. But my priorities are very differentu00a0-- I don't think you can put in your best if you're doing too many things at the same time.

And one lesson that I have learnt from my dad is that there are no shortcuts to success and no formula for hard work. He still works so hard.

I'll do it my way
I've learnt to be successful on my own merit and have always set very high standards for myself. I've always admired Lata Mangeshkarji who made it big even though she came from a very humble background.

In fact one of the reasons why I didn't make a career in singing is because my benchmarks became higher than my deliverables and I came to realise that there can only be one Pandit Jasraj in a millennium. And I don't think I can ever compete with him!

Who: Durga Jasraj
What: Talking about doing her own thing
Where: At Juhu