Mini recalled her first day and wrote,”January 1995.My first day on a TV set as a TV host. And the story goes like this. I was a fresh off the boat MBA, working with J Walter Thompson. I used to model part time those days and Doordarshan had just moved over for Zee TV, india’s first satellite channel.”
She added, “One day, out of the blue.. the now legendary @sanjoykroy called me in to audition for one of india’s first game shows -TOL MOL KE BOL. The first season had made @riturajksingh (RIP) wildly popular and he was moving to films. They needed new hosts and here I was.. in my lame office salwar kameez and permed hair. I didn’t think i would get picked and I had that “fresh post graduate” wala confidence so I wasn’t nervous one bit. But from the moment he called ACTION, I felt at ease. The camera was my friend, it never intimidated me. I could chat WITH it , not talk AT it. I was home.”
In one of the pictures, Mini can be seen standing beside young R Madhavan standing, while talking about it, she wrote, “My co host was to be this new, cute boy from Jamshedpur @actormaddy (we all know how THAT story went) And together we travelled the length of India making people guess the right price of things to win them. The most popular round was when contestants had to guess the price of the saree wore in each episode. My look was dictated by what the sponsor gave for that week and if my mothers jewellery matched it!! And my young happy skin needed no make up :)”
She concluded the note by saying, “TMKB was a great learning ground… I learnt how to modulate my voice, how to handle fans and compliments, how to catch my light, signed my first autograph … to be on TV those days was a BIG DEAL!! Sanjoy & Mohit are great foodies so in every city they took us to the best local restaurants.. i learnt SO MUCH about India from both of them. So I quit advertising and moved on to be a full time TV host. And boy do I have some Mad stories! Want more??”
Mini Mathur, Tisca Chopra, and Shipra Khanna talk love, career, and more