ELLE Digital Cover Star: Sargun Mehta And The Power Of Playing The Long Game

A gut instinct has a habit of showing up quietly before it changes everything. For Sargun Mehta, that instinct led her straight into an industry takeover.

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I still remember watching her in the music video for Qismat — a song that defined heartbreak for an entire generation. I played it on loop long before Spotify Wrapped existed, completely obsessed. In a Punjabi-Delhi household like mine, Mehta wasn’t just another girl in a viral music video. She was already a cult favourite. Someone who could make you laugh, ache, and feel deeply through her television roles, before going on to reshape Punjabi cinema with her body of work.

For many, she remains the ‘Qismat girl’ discovered on YouTube. But even before that, Mehta was a familiar presence in Indian living rooms through Balika Vadhu — a show my grandmother followed religiously back when fixed TV timings decided dinner schedules. She was part of that shared domestic rhythm, present across generations, before the idea of reinvention even entered the conversation.

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A Cult Favourite Television Name

Acting was never a sudden plot twist in Mehta’s life. She had always been drawn to theatre and cinema, even though the original plan was far more practical. Like many of us, she was expected to follow in her father’s footsteps and build a career in business. She laughs about being a full-time draamebaaz growing up — the kind of child people teased — admitting, “I thought everybody wanted to be an actor, but it felt like a dream that was very far away. Back then, Bombay felt farther than a foreign country.”

The moment that quietly shifted her trajectory arrived during a routine evening in front of the television with her father. When he praised Prachi Desai’s performance in Kusum, something clicked. “My father thinks Prachi Desai is doing a good job. Maybe I should become an actor,” she remembers thinking. That single thought snowballed into her stepping into theatre in 2006, unknowingly laying the foundation for everything that followed.

By 2012, Mehta was already a household name. Grandmothers adored her, and her presence floated through living rooms across the country. She wasn’t just acting on television — she was dancing on Nach Baliye with her then fiancé, expanding her visibility beyond daily soaps. For a generation of viewers, myself included, she became part of that dramatic, entertaining universe that families bonded over night after night.

A Leap Of Faith: The Punjabi Takeover

Punjabi cinema, however, was where Mehta truly found her stride. When I ask her about the transition that turned her into one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry today, her answer is refreshingly unvarnished. Television had become familiar ground — comfortable, predictable — but something else was calling.

She recalls 2014, when Punjabi films like Jatt & Juliet were everywhere. “I remember going to the theatre, watching it with my nani and thinking, ‘Oh my God, why am I not doing this?’” she says. That question stayed with her. What followed was immersion — watching film after film, absorbing the language, understanding the rhythm of the industry. What initially felt exploratory soon became decisive. “It was a calling,” she adds.

Even when people questioned her decision to step away from television, Mehta trusted her instinct. In 2015, everything shifted with Angrej, her first Punjabi film and now one of the industry’s most enduring cult classics.

Her rise was measured, not manic. “My success in this industry came with a lot of patience. For the first three to four years, I didn’t do more than one film a year,” she shares. Those early years were about building trust — with audiences, collaborators, and herself. That slow, intentional approach is exactly what transformed a gut feeling into a career-defining move.

“Chasing Doesn’t Get You What You Want. Setting An Intention Does.”

“Chasing doesn’t get you what you want. Setting an intention does,” Mehta says — a philosophy she clearly lives by. As our conversation moves towards resets, values, and intention, especially after navigating two major industries while running a successful production house, her clarity feels hard-earned rather than performative.

For Mehta, rest is not absence; it is engagement with what nourishes her. “I love reading and writing,” she shares. “I like to mix things up — vacationing, dancing, trying something new. My current obsession is padel.” Watching films and television is non-negotiable. She needs to watch something every day — a ritual that helps her unwind while staying anchored to her craft.

Her relationship with priorities has evolved, too. “Over the years, I’ve realised that spending time with family and slowing down isn’t a bad thing,” she says. Earlier, staying home came with guilt, as though rest had to be justified. That thinking has shifted. Mental health is no longer something she sidelines, and slowing down is now a conscious, unapologetic choice.

This is the current chapter. A television favourite turned Punjabi cinema powerhouse, Mehta is also the co-founder of a thriving production house. The business gene found its place alongside performance. She followed both callings — her love for acting and her instinct for enterprise.

Sometimes, trusting your gut and taking a measured leap is not a gamble at all. It’s simply listening closely enough to know when it’s time to move.

Team Credits:

Editorial Director: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi (@aineenizamiahmedi); Videographer: Akshay Pawar (@akshaypawar.95); Fashion Stylist: Tejashree Raul (@tejashreeraul); Sr. Graphic Designer: Sakshi Badani (@saaksh.i); Jr. Bookings Editor: Anushka Patil (@anushkapatil21); HMUA for Sargun: Shayli Nayak (@shaylinayak)(makeup), Ashish Bogi (@ashisbogi)(hair); HMUA for Ravie: Claire Gil (@clairegil_makeup) rep by Anima Creatives (@animacreatives); Words by: Tanvee Khanna (@tansvistaa); Assisted by: Rasikka Deorey (@rasikka.deorey), Hardika Singh (@hardika.singhh) (styling), Sharayu Karalkar (@sharayukaralkar)(bookings); Artists Reputation Management: Spice PR (@spicesocial)