A digital detox sounds like a wonderful idea to Mona Singh. While the actor has adopted the philosophy on screen in her Zee5 series, Thode Door Thode Paas — which revolves around a family going on a ‘digital fast’ — applying it off screen is a distant idea. If anything, she is advised the opposite. “My team tells me to be more active on social media. They drive me crazy, telling me, ‘This song is trending, make a reel on it,’” she laughs.
The pressure doesn’t work on Singh, who views social media as a great platform to connect with her fans. That said, she is clear that documenting every moment of her day is not her style. “I’m not an influencer. I’m an actor, and I will stick to [acting]. It feels great to connect with fans through social media. You also get to know which show is working. But I never give in to the pressure of posting or think to myself, ‘This show of mine has worked. So, let me start posting about where I am and what I’m eating’.”
Singh’ team’s advice, however, is not without reason. Actors’ social media game is increasingly becoming a criterion when it comes to their casting. “I have been fortunate enough that people don’t look at my number of followers. But I’ve heard stories that people cast you seeing your profile and the number of followers you have. If it brings [the platform] more subscriptions and more downloads, why not cast them?” But the actor believes this won’t be a long-term practice. She reasons, “Actors are professional artistes who know their job. Influencers getting into acting is tricky. It might get the numbers that [the makers] want, but for them to get into acting completely is difficult.”
(L-R) Sunny Deol and Varun Dhawan on ‘Border 2’ set
‘Mom, I am in Sandese Aate Hai!’
Mona Singh will open 2026 with the big-screen outing, ‘Border 2’, which stars Sunny Deol, Diljit Dosanjh, Varun Dhawan, and Ahan Shetty. Joining the sequel to the war drama ‘Border’ (1997) is a proud moment for Singh. “It is 100 per cent nostalgia for me. Also, being a fauji`s daughter, I loved being [cast in] the film. Anurag Singh is a very sensitive director. I had loved his last directorial Kesari (2019),” she says.