'We were laughing and crying': Maanvi Gagroo says Four More Shots Please put her on the map, recalls emotional last day

AFter trey long years, quaternary sir thomas more Shots delight is eventually returning with its fourth and final season. While fans are gearing up for one last ride with Damini, Anjana, Siddhi and Umang, the reality of saying goodbye has hit the cast just as hard. As Four More Shots Please prepares to bow out, one thing is certain, Siddhi and her girls are leaving behind a legacy of friendship, flaws and fierce self-love that fans won’t forget anytime soon.Created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and Ishita Pritish Nandy, the show also stars Bani J, Sayani Gupta and Kirti Kulhari and is scheduled to release on Prime Video on December 19. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, Maanvi Gagroo opens up about the emotional farewell, Siddhi’s journey of self-love, her real-life bond with her co-stars and why the finale promises a sense of closure.‘It hit me on the last day that this was it’Talking about the moment she realised the show was truly ending, Maanvi recalls how the emotions crept up unexpectedly. “When initially we found out that we were doing the finale season and all of that, we were very excited. We were like, let’s do it one last time. There was a lot of enthusiasm. We came in with this insane level of energy,” she says.However, it was the last day of the shoot that truly hit home. “I remember on the last day of the shoot, when I was driving to the location, it suddenly hit me — oh my god, I will never play Siddhi again. There will be no MANG. It happened with everyone. When we went on set and shot the final scene, we just started crying. We were laughing and crying. It was pretty emotional.”Siddhi’s growth and a journey towards self-acceptanceReflecting on Siddhi’s arc over four seasons, Maanvi says the character has grown immensely, while still staying true to who she is at heart. “Siddhi has really grown up. She’s still the same person at the core, but she’s had experiences where she had to grow up and some where she chose to grow up. One major difference that defines her growth for me is that she learns to accept herself. This whole journey of self-love," she explains.She adds that Siddhi’s journey also had a deep personal impact on her, “When we started out, Siddhi didn’t love herself. She didn’t even know herself. She had never tried to find her dreams, ambitions or fears. Gradually, through seasons two and three, she finds her footing with Mihir, the girls and stand-up comedy. Unlike Siddhi, I thought I was a confident person, and I am in many ways, but I didn’t realise I was conscious about my body, especially when it came to clothing. I was very conscious of wearing short clothes because I thought my thighs were big. Siddhi helped me get out of that, but on a very subliminal level. I didn’t even realise the change had happened, but it did.”What fans can expect from the final seasonFor viewers who have followed the show since season one, Maanvi says the finale will feel like coming full circle. “If you are a fan of the show and have followed their journeys through the three seasons, hopefully you’ll be reminded of why you started watching it and why you liked these girls. There will be a sense of closure,” she says. “We want to end on a high where you want more of these girls, but you’re also happy that their journey has been a great ride.”A bond that goes beyond the screenThe camaraderie among the four leads has always been a highlight, and Maanvi believes that bond will continue even after the show ends. “We’ll definitely keep meeting. It always happens — we’ll meet a lot initially, then gradually get busy with our lives and keep making plans, hoping they materialise. But we have enough WhatsApp groups to keep this friendship active," she laughsShe also shares the unique equation she shares with each co-star. “With Kirti, it’s more of a friend and elder sister vibe — she scolds me, gives me advice, but we also have fun. With Sayani, it’s very peer-to-peer; we usually have similar opinions. Bani is very protective. I feel very safe around her. I’m scared to tell her anything negative because she’s like, ‘Who said this to you? I’ll go and…’ and I’m like, no, I’m just venting!”‘We’ve grown up together like a family’Maanvi adds that the bond extends beyond the main cast. “Even with the rest of the crew, I’m in touch with everyone. We’ve known each other for eight years. People have gotten married, divorced, had babies, and faced deaths in the family. We’ve been through so much together, it’s like a family. We fight like families do, and we can’t live without each other either.”How season 4 finally came togetherRevealing how the final season materialised, Maanvi says they had almost given up hope after season three. “We kept asking the makers what was happening because we ended season three on a hook. But we didn’t get any response, so eventually we gave up and got busy with our lives. Suddenly, around this time last year, they said they were planning season four and that it would be the last season, the finale. And we were all like, oh my god, yes. Let’s do it.”On criticism and social media negativityAddressing the criticism the show has faced over the years, with some calling it 'cringe and thirst trap', Maanvi said, “Everyone has an opinion, and they should have one. That’s okay. I just don’t like it when it becomes abusive, dangerous or misogynistic. That says more about them than the show. We have got some misogynistic messages, but for every negative comment, we get ten positive ones, so the maths doesn’t really work out. If something bothers me on social media, I delete it. You can’t come to my page and talk rubbish. I don’t engage because that’s like feeding the monsters.”The show that put her on the mapLooking back at her career, Maanvi credits Four More Shots Please for expanding her reach as an actor. “Pitchers made people realise I could act. Tripling made it a money-making model. But with Four More Shots Please, the scale became much bigger. Everything became huge. I had played a lot of girl-next-door, cute, bubbly characters. Siddhi is also cute and bubbly, but she has layers. That allowed me to reach a much larger audience,” she concluded.