Shivani Desai

Meet Shivani Desai - a young and beautiful emerging actor of our generation.

Both talented and extremely hardworking, Shivani is one of the successful actors currently on the

rise and on her way to stardom.

Shivani feels so connected to her purpose when she brings hope, comfort and a smile to the audience through her work. This purpose behind the passion for her profession makes her one of

the finest young actors. Apart from her professional talents, she has excellent organizational skills and flaunts the duality of being both deeply empathetic yet confidently firm. 

While she has gained considerable success with her enormous talents and boasts a repertoire of

impressive achievements in this industry, Shivani’s beginnings are rather humble. She was born in Ahmedabad but when she was just a baby, she moved to Singapore together with her parents

who packed up their lives and shifted to a foreign country for work. With her strong belief in self-sufficiency and independence, Shivani started working part-time at the age of 18. Although she has grown up and lived in Singapore for 25 years now, whenever she is asked where her hometown is, her instinct is always to say “India”.

As we all know, India can never be taken out

of the Indian! Over the course of her career as a full-time actor, she has starred in short films, music videos,

plays, documentaries, and commercials while also working as a model for local Singapore magazines and stock images. Some of her future goals are breaking into TV and film! She is currently working towards acquiring work in a series or a feature-length film whereby she can

sink her teeth into the meat of a character and get mesmerized in the world of that story.

More interestingly, she also breaks untrue stereotypes of artists being poor academic performers

and having lofty aspirations. Instead, Shivani’s ambitions are backed by a solid educational background. 

She has pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from the National University of Singapore and acquired film acting training from London’s famed MetFilm School - amongst other actor trainingAfter having her life changed by the pandemic upon discovering self-taping, she diversified her skillset to become her own manager, director, DOP, editor, and stylist as she filmed and submitted auditions. More importantly, she also expanded her horizons by not limiting herself to her geographical space and began carving a space for herself in different markets around the world.

 As she auditioned for projects in different countries and worked virtually with acting coaches across the world, she has developed an appreciation for working with diverse, multicultural communities. The freedom she gains from no longer being bound to her physical

space adds to her strong personality.

Shivani shares about her inspiration:

She says –“[That’s really hard to say. I’ve been fortunate in that I had a lot of artistic influences

around me when I was growing up - my mom is an unbelievably talented painter and my dad is such a passionate cinephile that I grew up on a steady diet of Bollywood movies from a young age.

It really was a combination of factors that inspired me to be an actor as a child and continue to inspire me even now. To name just one person would be a disservice to all the other people, groups, institutions, shows, and movies that have helped shape me into whom I’ve become – I’d be spending all day writing every single one of their names if I were asked to do it! So, I’ll keep it succinct and say instead that every single artist out there in the world, who’s working tirelessly against the forces of what society deems to be proper, productive, and profitable in their own big or little ways – whether it’s writing a poem, picking up a paintbrush, creating support groups for fellow creatives, making movies, starting book clubs, writing original songs, or teaching the very art that society didn’t allow them to practise - inspires me. You’re all awesome and make the world a little easier to live in.”]

She also suggests finding your niche: “Many people believe that you need to offer a broad

category of services in order to achieve massive success, which is not true. If you try to cater to everyone, you end up catering to no one at all. Your audience is out there. Get specific, and find

them” During her interview with Ms Venture, she talks about the challenges she has faced.She added: “One of the biggest challenges in my career is that I’ve undergone is mitigating the pushback that came from making an “impractical” and “premature” career choice at a young

Age. At the age of 18 years, I decided to tell family and friends that acting was what I wanted to pursue professionally. 

Having to stand up for myself and the career I wanted, especially in the face of cynics who made very valid points about the financial and practical questionability of my

profession was a daily challenge I had to undertake - but I had a gut feeling that acting was my calling and have nonetheless relentlessly pursued the path of making art for a living ever since. 

Seven years later, after declaring my intention to act for a living, I have my friends and entire family in my corner. It’s been an excellent lesson for me in understanding that an unshakeable sense of self and belief in your calling is sufficient to turn the strongest naysayers into your biggest supporters.

In South Asian communities though, this is a pretty standard hurdle that many actors face in the

formative stages of their career and is part and parcel of an artist’s journey. After transitioning into a full time career as a working actor, however, a fresh new set of challenges presented itself.

As the pandemic took over the world in 2020-2021, even the little information I knew about the entertainment industry went straight out the window because with new standards in place, that

information was no longer relevant. Things were never going to return to normal, so the industry was changing every single day by learning to translate industry processes and practices into its virtual counterparts.

 I found myself in a situation where I was afraid to ask “stupid” questions –

so I spent a lot of time looking for answers in a quest to be independent instead of just reaching out to people who had more industry experience than I did. It was a massive waste of my time and efforts - and 

I’m certain fellow artists suffer from the same syndrome of wanting to be

self-sufficient. If there’s one lesson that has come out of facing this challenge - it’s that

adaptability and the ability to ask for help are two of the most crucial qualities you should have as working professionals.”

Her perception and perspective of the world truly leaves one astonished.

It is her outstanding values that keep her from going astray when it comes to her life’s mission, which boils down to innovation and experimentation! In fact, the motivation to realize herambitions and manifest them into reality is what keeps Shivani awake at night and keeps her going through the day.

Also, Shivani says about Her Best Supporters:

“My family. Like I mentioned, they’ve turned into my biggest supporters. Given the sporadic nature of my work, my schedule lacks routine. Some days, I’m working from home and taping virtual auditions. Some days, I’m out for shoots and in-person auditions. There is no fixed

pattern - if I were a parent, I can imagine I’d have so many questions about what my child is doing and whether their work is value-adding to their life. On the contrary, my parents give me the time and space required for whatever it is that I need to do. If I need to leave the house early

for an audition, my mom will make me a quick snack before I leave. Or if I have a shoot that day, my dad will give me a high-five and tell me “Just be yourself” to wish me luck. If I’m filming something at home, they’ll try their best to maintain quietness in the house so it doesn’t interrupt

my filming. 

A lesser-known fact is that my sister paid for film school at a time when I couldn’t

I can afford to do it myself. It was a programme that she found for me through her own research

and encouraged me to enroll in. I was excited at the prospect of going to film school in London

but was also held back by the fact that it wasn’t a small fee to pay. She stepped in, offered to pay

for it, and even accompanied me to London for my first week there.

 I wasn’t lying when I said my family is my biggest supporter! I also can’t not mention my friends. I have a couple of dear friends in my life who hype up my every little win and their faith in my abilities keeps me motivated. Their unconditional support is rare and I’m so grateful for it.

I’ve also created a little community of sorts on Instagram whereby my internet friends wish me well and root for my success - the fact that they do this despite not

knowing me personally is a testament to the purity of their intentions and their support is

something I’d never take for granted.”

She believes –“Creativity is best thought of as a kind of effort, not an abstract thing. But no creative person in history was creative in a practical sense without applying any effort of some kind to a project. 

whatever you want in life."Shivani continues to attain success not only because of her hard work, but also because of her

genuine regard and respect towards others. Her kind heart and effort to impact lives with her work is a source of motivation for hundreds, maybe even thousands of youngsters just like her. If you’re an actor looking for information on how to break into the entertainment industry

Shivani shares a plethora of tips and advice on her social media that she has acquired through her own personal experience as a working actor. Her determination, dedication, and constant drive for achieving her goals is the reason behind both her current and future successes. Having undergone her fair share of struggles and difficult experiences in life, Shivani shares her two-cents:

She advises - “It’s pretty simple. Don’t waste precious time, effort, and energy working on things

that bring you no joy.”

Her story is a testament to the notion that there is no unknown secret to making a good name for yourself - it just takes drive, intrinsic motivation, and accountability. Shivani’s flawless execution of this mindset is what sets her up for success as she enjoys the fruits of being a creative, an artist, a working actor, a model, a social media expert, as well as a technocrat.

Don't forget to follow her on InstagramClick here