Mumbai, Oct 12 (IANS): Actress Aishwarya Sharma, popular as Pakhi of the show Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin, says dance is her first love.

"I have done Visharad in Kathak. It is a six-year-course. Dance for me is freedom of expression. It clears my mind. I can dance anywhere. Whenever I hear beats, my body just starts dancing. It is my first love and will always be," she said.

However, she says this doesn't mean that her dedication towards her craft of acting is any less.

"I don't remember exactly when I realised I wanted to be an actor, but I used to do a lot of mimicry of my faculty members and friends in my school and college days and a lot of people used to tell me that I should try acting. I used to read a lot of celebrity interviews and something always told me that I should do it, but then I never spoke about it at home," she recalled.

"Then, after engineering, I happened to tell my father that I want to do something in that field, and it was he who told me I should get into acting. I am so grateful to him for saying that," she added.

She has appeared in shows like "Code Red" and "Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman".