Page 292 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book

organically, without any pressure, and I know that the only way to do that

was to shut off my social media.”

Chalotra steered clear of Instagram and twitter for all of the eight months of

filming. “Obviously, being an actor I am very self-critical and I will always

want to serve the fans, but I’ve always tried to focus on the positive, and

more importantly, on the story.”

Chalotra discovered her natural flair for showmanship pretty early on in

life. She was pushed in front of her relatives by her father when she was a

kid. “I think I was eight? We were having a family get together and he told

me to sing an Indian song. And I knew, at that very moment, that I loved

the attention.”

Born to an Indian father and an English mother, Chalotra has been

yearning to visit India for as long as she can remember. Having spent two-

and-a-half weeks in the country now, she has already been on a

characteristically-delayed seven-hour train journey, witnessed the beauty

of Amritsar’s Golden Temple, and convinced herself to take Hindi lessons

once back in London. But before that, she has a string of panel discussions

and interviews she must attend to. “Yennefer has changed my life. This

opportunity has changed my life. It has been an absolute gift,” she says

knocking on wood.

While The Witcher fans may write her off as a young actor with minimal

professional experience, Chalotra’s career trajectory could markedly

resemble Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke’s, who started off with very little

herself, and made history.

The Witcher is slated to release on December 20 on Netflix