Showing posts with label Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye. Show all posts
We have to respect cultures when we go to peoples' homes-Ekta Kapoor
7:58 AM
Television Czarina Ekta Kapoor backs her apparently frivolous TV offerings as she discusses disparity in content across platforms
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; December 10, 2017)
For several years, Ekta Kapoor dismissed accusations of adding to the depleting pool of content on television with a, "Don't like it, don't watch it." Yet, chatter about the offerings on her digital platform being superior to the apparent inanity on TV is testimony to her creative genius. Soon after the release of Bose: Dead Or Alive, which dips into the subject of the freedom fighter's life after his speculated death, Kapoor talks about the lessons she's learnt that fuel the decision for segregated content. What comes to the fore is her unparalleled business prowess. Excerpts from the conversation:
Subhas Chandra Bose is the first public figure on whose life you've decided to make a web series. What about his story inspired you?
I came across news pieces which spoke about these strongly suggested spottings of Bose. There were conspiracies about the crash that apparently killed him. So, I started to Google him. And, each time I read something, I was pushed onto another link. Every link introduces you to another conspiracy. So, I hope this show makes you think and realise that if Bose were alive after his speculated death, what could have happened. If he chose to stay in hiding, why was that?
Bose's daughter, Anita had alluded that it was time people stopped bringing up the possibility of Bose surviving the crash. Did you interact with her as part of the preparations or to seek permissions?
We did not take any permissions from Bose's family. He's a national figure and we haven't spoken about any personal issues that weren't documented. As far as I'm concerned, if you are highlighting a political figure's life, you have to be fearless. You can't worry about who will be offended and who won't. I don't care. This is the simple belief of my life. When I read that Bose met Hitler, I was shocked. I wondered, what was he thinking? He was allowing himself to look bad [before the people of India]. That is unlike what politicians do. The man didn't care how he looked. His aim was clear - independence. In today's world, we need someone like him.
There's a very clear distinction in the kind of content you create for each medium.
Honestly, the first time I made LSD [Love Sex Aur Dhokha, 2010], people were shocked that I even knew the word sex. They thought I was someone who could only make sanskari shows. They forgot that I was a single girl, living in Bombay. The brand, Balaji Studio, is synonymous with family entertainment. [After LSD came out of this brand] people told me they didn't expect this from me. So, we created two brands that were at odds with each other. We have to respect cultures when we go to peoples' homes. When you watch a TV show, your grandmother, nephews and nieces do so together.
So, you have to watch entertainment that doesn't hurt sentiments. When you're alone, you're a different person. The different content is catered to the distinct personas of people. There's communal viewing [TV]. And then, there's personal viewing, which happens on the mobile phone. When you're home alone, you are making a choice for yourself. Thus, we are catering to different audiences. Even the web audience is so distinct. An urban girl living in Mumbai may enjoy a Test Case. A single man, who is interested in political thrillers, will like Bose. My mom will like Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat. A young girl from Bareilly, one who is trying to break away from forced moral rules imposed on her, will like Dev DD.
I remember, I had this TV show called Ajeeb
Daastaan Hai Ye, where a woman, whose husband was horrible to her, had a
mental connection with another man. The audience didn't watch it. I was
so upset. Some women said our husbands don't let us watch it. So, I was
like, okay, we'll give you what you want on your phone. Now let's see
who stops you.
There's constantly a discussion on the depleting quality of content on Indian TV.
TV does a lot to promote acceptable social values. It showcases working girls, who also support families. For me, it's very important that all of my heroines be involved with some or the other NGO [on the show]. None of my girls are unemployed. All of them are working girls. Of course, if it's a drama, they're getting kidnapped and all, but there's always a conversation about work in all my shows. We have taken on social issues too. But, I can't show sex.
Is there any other public figure on whose life you'll make a show?
I had wanted to make one on Gayatri Devi, but it didn't materialise.
There's a lot of discussion around the filming of your next, Kedarnath, in the tough terrains. Did you interact with the unit?
I was there for one day and I don't know how they survived. When I reached, I was in shock. There's no civilization. There are four or five stalls of food, and for several kilometres, there's no civilization. There was no food. Keto [diet] was the most impossible thing to do there (laughs). Gattu [Abhishek Kapoor, director] had five people in his room. The heater would be on for five minutes, and would turn off for 10. We'd take turns to sit near it. It was a noisy one, but that didn't matter then. You can't hear a sound after 8 pm. It was scary. If you need medication, and if the helicopter can't reach, what will you do? The pitthoos [porters] were amazing. They were these guys carrying [huge] people. I don't know why people don't pick this up as human labour? Their agility made me jealous.
We can no longer have content that is one-size-fits-all - Ekta Kapoor
7:49 AM
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; April 30, 2017)
"All shows on ALT Balaji have a smattering of my personality. We have started with six shows, but by this time next year, I plan to have 38,” says TV doyen Ekta Kapoor, who in 2017 has completed over 23 years in the industry. “My goal was 32, but like always, I plan to be over ambitious.”
We are at the Balaji office, sitting with the newly svelte Kapoor, who has the trademark rings with lucky gemstones and red threads adorning her hands. She has decided to say yes to the interview despite being busy with the launch of ALT — Balaji’s new digital channel — but then, she says, she hardly has a personal life. “This is it. This is me. The lines are very blurry between personal and professional.”
Kapoor, veteran actor Jeetendra’s daughter, is Joint Managing Director and Creative Director of ALT Balaji. The driving force behind some of the most succesful shows in Indian television history, including Hum Paanch, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and recently Naagin, Kapoor if anything, knows what the masses want. That she’d join the web series bandwagon was only a question of when, especially considering television in India is getting stiff competition from the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. “We Indians have a TV watching face. For example, I couldn’t watch kissing scenes with my father. So, we all watch TV with our families, and that’s reaching 25 million homes. Therefore content was family-friendly.”
But as she slots audiences into “mass, urban mass and extremely mass”, she admits times have changed. So, she adds, there are around five million people in around 27 cities who want urban stories that are more relatable, not foreign, still local. “And that’s why we started ALT.”
Right now, its roster has a romance show, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, with one of Kapoor’s favourite on-screen couples Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar, the gay rom-com Romil And Jugal, Dev DD, a contemporary adaptation of the classic Bengali novel, Devdas, and The Test Case which will star Nimrat Kaur as the first combat Army officer. “On apps, it’s all about individual consumption. That’s what my brief to the team is — the taste structure has changed. We can no longer have content that is one-size-fits-all. For example, I love Karrle and so does my mother, but she doesn’t get Romil and Jugul. She says she doesn’t understand these people. It’s all about very specific taste.”
Kapoor then starts talking about a show she launched in 2015 called Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, which starred Sonali Bendre who played a woman separated from her husband after his adultery. Later, she finds an emotional connect with her boss. But, TRPs nosedived and the Balaji’s research team discovered that the people watching were unable to swallow the idea of a middle-aged mother having an affair, even if only to spite her husband. “At that time I thought ‘You can’t judge me, I judge you for how you have reacted to this show’. Some people said ‘Oh! Men do this, why did she have to leave him’. Some said ‘We can’t watch this with our families’.” It was the lesson taught by this show that has prompted her to rethink her strategy. “I knew then that for clutter breaking stories, I don’t need to cater to 100 million people. If only a few watch it, it would be worth it. And so I decided to target communities – like the LGBT community, some of whom may not be out. They have given us the thumbs up. I wanted to make a show that comes from the purity of the thought that there are people out there who are marginalised. They are not victims, neither are they caricatures. They are real people.”
For now, Kapoor is concentrating on gathering as many stories as she can, which includes a modern-day adaptation of Little Women, and plans to make stories for every modern Indian, with not much regard for competition. “I have been around for too long, so I am well trained in the art of combat. I am aware of competition, but I behave like an ostrich. You take it all in, internalise it, and then do what you believe in. That’s all.”
I have never measured my success in other people's eyes-Sonali Bendre
8:33 AM
Her decision to take up a full-time TV role, says Sonali Bendre, was to allow her 9-year-old son 'grow up'.
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 19, 2014)
Her debut film, the 1994 Aag opposite Govinda came as a surprise for her family, which until then had churned out only engineers. It was a risk, but having spent over two decades in the industry, acted in countless films and judged several reality shows, Sonali Bendre feels the gamble has paid off.
Perching on a couch on the sets of Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, Bendre is on the edge of another gamble, as a television actor. "Some (gambles) pay off, some don't. There's no harm in trying," surmises the actor, who until now, has only judged TV shows and restricted acting to film.
Her dialogue sheet flutters slightly as she talks about her role - that of a middle-class woman who has to fend for her family. She is quick to clarify that she doesn't share much in common with Shobha, her on screen self. "She is probably someone who got married just after college...something I would have never done," she says firmly.
Bendre seems to know her mind well. A decade ago, she moved to television - extracting a big gasp from those in her circles - to anchor a children's talent show. "Everyone has this perception that people move to television when they aren't doing well in films. I find this funny because when I did my first TV show, I had just acted in films like Sarfarosh and Hum Saath Saath Hain," she says, adding that her decision was fuelled by her fascination for the show. "I love kids and that show gave kids a platform to showcase their talent. I am a talent-show-find myself and, therefore, believed in it," she adds.
What other people thought of her move didn't matter. "I have never measured my success in other people's eyes, and I have never followed any rules," she says, adding that if she did, she would've been an IAS officer or an engineer today.
While she loves talent hunts and judged two prime-time talent shows, she has a grouse against the parents of contestants. "Most parents push their children a lot. When the kids don't succeed, they feel bad because their parents feel worse and openly convey this. Parents need to chill out and tell their kids that it's fine if they didn't make it."
A mother to a nine-year-old, Bendre says one of the reasons she took up her latest acting gig was to give her son a break from herself, "Every child is impressionable in the first seven years and I've nurtured my son through this period. But now that Ranveer is nine, I feel I'm mollycoddling him and need to let him be." She hopes her absence from home makes her son more responsible. Encouragement came from husband, producer Goldie Behl, who volunteered to fill in for her. "He has been rescheduling his work to attend school meetings and even joining Ranveer at his tennis classes," she exults. She jokes that the relationship brewing between dad and son is leaving her a bit insecure.
While she's managing to juggle her personal life, along with her hectic TV shoots (10-12 hours a day), Bendre is yet to plan long-term. "Six months on, if I feel that things are going fine, I might continue or I'll just go back to my son," she says nervously. All her actions, even the choice of what she watches at home, are governed by what will work for her son. "I watch edutainment channels, hoping my son gets hooked on to programmes beyond cartoons," she says.
As the conversation returns to what she does on screen, Bendre discusses the changes in her craft based on the switch in mediums. "The grammar of television differs...The way you hold or prolong an expression differs as well. You have to prepare yourself based on the camera angle. If it's a close shot, you might just need to emote through your eyes, and it has to be subtle. If your eyes move even a bit more than required, it would be considered overacting," laughs the 39-yearold, who hasn't had any formal training in acting.
Her film career may be behind her, but would she do things differently if she were to debut today. "I would choose slightly different subjects," she says, adding, "Also, I'd need to be much more prepared since most actresses today are a lot of more informed and trained before they start working."
Is marriage only a woman's responsibility?-Ekta Kapoor
7:40 AM
Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; October 7, 2014)
The story of Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye: 
It's about a woman, played by Sonali Bendre (interestingly, her character is named after Ekta's mother Shobha in the serial), who is in love with her husband and relies on him a lot. He is monied and she thinks she is doing all the right things, till one day when she discovers that he has cheated on her. He is caught in a sexual scandal and she sees him making out with another woman on TV. He lands up in jail. She had earlier taken up a degree only to get married. She now takes up a job after so many years, where she develops a connection with a man, her boss in this case. It is a funny rhetoric connection called friendship and is completely non-sexual. Her boss is somebody who she initially can't stand, as he is a rude, mean bas***d. He doesn't like to talk to women and doesn't even realise that he is lonely. But he too, finds a friend in her. He may not look like the perfect guy, but he is great with your kids, he talks to you and while you never have a physical affair with him, there is a mental connection you develop.
Excerpts of a conversation with producer Ekta Kapoor:
How did Ajeeb Daastaan...come about?
Uday (Shankar) sir asked me what the show was about. And I said, '95% shows on television are about pro-marriage.' He asked, 'Therefore, are you doing an anti-marriage show?' I said, 'No. I am doing a show where I am asking the question, 'Is marriage only a woman's responsibility? What is marriage? Marriage is companionship. It's about spending a whole life with someone. It's about being each other's habit. It's about getting to know about each other and having similar likes. And if these things are not marriage, is marriage just a social status?' He said, 'I am doing it.' He said, 'Somewhere, we have to give women the courage, who constantly see our shows and say marriage is sacrosanct even if it is not working as they try and make it work.' Neena Guptaji did it in Saans many years ago. Asha Parekhji did it in Kora Kagaz. I did it with Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko many years back when I was the youngest producer. My first show called Shuruaat never got on air, as no channel was willing to pick it up. It was about a woman at the age of 40 who had just started her life, as up till then she had only been a wife, daughter and mother. Today, people are going to accept it. So Ajeeb Daastaan... came to life. It is not bold in content and will connect with every woman in some way. It's never at the cost of your husband. But what if you are married to a man who betrays you? Should you just keep that marriage going? And even if you do, is that really all that you are going to be? Imagine after 12 years of marriage, you come to know that your husband has another life. Will you still be able to go back home and maintain that and pretend that there is nothing wrong?
Ajeeb Daastaan... is not a feminist show. It's a romcom love story, where a woman develops a mental connection, not physical, with another man, after discovering that her husband has cheated on her. It's not anti-marriage. It's anti-betrayal. Uday sir said, `You and me have done so many shows telling women that you have to stick in a marriage and that marriage is important. But so many of them are in bad marriages and yet, they see these shows and feel that they have to be this kind of daughter-in-law and wife. Today, let's do a show, where a woman has hope that there is an idol, a character out there who may be in a similar situation. Will we support her walking out of that marriage?'
Is it different from other fictional shows on television today?
Yes, very different from all the shows in recent times. There is an audience today who wants to hear a different story. You lead your whole life thinking that you are married and one day, he gets bored. He has an affair. And what about you, who has made that commitment? Is marriage only your responsibility? He can have an affair, but you can't even have a mental connection? I want to know how India reacts and how much our audiences have matured. Marriages in India are considered only the woman's job. And it's unfortunate that it's not two-sided; where a man can make a mistake and a woman is supposed to forgive him. It's about mental connection, about landing up in a situation, where you realise that you have made a wrong choice. Can women walk out of that marriage? I don't know. I want my audiences to decide. It's an important story in the evolution of television. I think I have done it all for populist television. I am not being niche, but am doing another show representing another part of the country that we don't show.As we don't want to have women who can even once think that they can have the courage to walk out of their marriages, even though they are in a bad one. We want to be able to say that you don't have to be married to a bad man. You don't need to be in a marriage if it doesn't give you compatibility , self-assurance and individuality after being together. And if we, who have constantly sold to them the other side, don't do it, we will be doing disservice to the society that we live in.
Tell us what you think the end of this show should be?
If this show fails, for me, it is more a human failure than a show failure. For me, doing this show is a test at many levels. I want to see how India reacts. I am not showing a woman having an affair. But what if she says tomorrow that I don't want to go back to that marriage? I want to see how India takes this. Midpoint in the show, her husband comes out and says, `Let's be normal again.' I want women to have the courage and I hope in hell that the audience stands up and supports her. The other man actually does not matter. What matters is, will she go back to a bad marriage?
Ironically, your central character Sonali Bendre, in real life, is in a terrific marriage?
Irony is great. Sonali is in a great marriage. Women, who are in great marriages, will support women who are not in such great marriages. So, my marriage may be working, but if yours is not, I will still give you that same respect.When I signed up Sonali, she was so happily married and said to me, 'Me and my husband Goldie have kept that distance work-wise and he has given me the individuality to grow. I hope men do that and I know of many who don't. I have seen women who don't discover this after years of marriage.' It was lovely to see Goldie spending 12 hours a day at home, while Sonali was shooting 12 hours a day. Sonali Bendre starts the serial by saying, 'It's 9 years of marriage and while I don't know what may happen tomorrow, I do know that till my last day, I will be with this man.' And at that point, the love affair is exposed. You can never predict your whole life... Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Yeh. Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam... At a time when the GEC space is crowded with the usual saas-bahu soaps, Ajeeb Daastaan... will raise questions about a woman's right to economic independence. It's a departure for Ekta Kapoor in many ways, in the sense that it is riskier and finite. It also marks Sonali Bendre's debut on a fictional TV show and took 6 months of convincing her, given that she is a mother of two kids and is happily married for over a decade. Ajeeb Daastaan...required her to shoot 12 hours a day. Interestingly, it was her husband Goldie Behl who helped in convincing her to do the show.
It's about a woman, played by Sonali Bendre (interestingly, her character is named after Ekta's mother Shobha in the serial), who is in love with her husband and relies on him a lot. He is monied and she thinks she is doing all the right things, till one day when she discovers that he has cheated on her. He is caught in a sexual scandal and she sees him making out with another woman on TV. He lands up in jail. She had earlier taken up a degree only to get married. She now takes up a job after so many years, where she develops a connection with a man, her boss in this case. It is a funny rhetoric connection called friendship and is completely non-sexual. Her boss is somebody who she initially can't stand, as he is a rude, mean bas***d. He doesn't like to talk to women and doesn't even realise that he is lonely. But he too, finds a friend in her. He may not look like the perfect guy, but he is great with your kids, he talks to you and while you never have a physical affair with him, there is a mental connection you develop.
Excerpts of a conversation with producer Ekta Kapoor:
How did Ajeeb Daastaan...come about?
Uday (Shankar) sir asked me what the show was about. And I said, '95% shows on television are about pro-marriage.' He asked, 'Therefore, are you doing an anti-marriage show?' I said, 'No. I am doing a show where I am asking the question, 'Is marriage only a woman's responsibility? What is marriage? Marriage is companionship. It's about spending a whole life with someone. It's about being each other's habit. It's about getting to know about each other and having similar likes. And if these things are not marriage, is marriage just a social status?' He said, 'I am doing it.' He said, 'Somewhere, we have to give women the courage, who constantly see our shows and say marriage is sacrosanct even if it is not working as they try and make it work.' Neena Guptaji did it in Saans many years ago. Asha Parekhji did it in Kora Kagaz. I did it with Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko many years back when I was the youngest producer. My first show called Shuruaat never got on air, as no channel was willing to pick it up. It was about a woman at the age of 40 who had just started her life, as up till then she had only been a wife, daughter and mother. Today, people are going to accept it. So Ajeeb Daastaan... came to life. It is not bold in content and will connect with every woman in some way. It's never at the cost of your husband. But what if you are married to a man who betrays you? Should you just keep that marriage going? And even if you do, is that really all that you are going to be? Imagine after 12 years of marriage, you come to know that your husband has another life. Will you still be able to go back home and maintain that and pretend that there is nothing wrong?
Ajeeb Daastaan... is not a feminist show. It's a romcom love story, where a woman develops a mental connection, not physical, with another man, after discovering that her husband has cheated on her. It's not anti-marriage. It's anti-betrayal. Uday sir said, `You and me have done so many shows telling women that you have to stick in a marriage and that marriage is important. But so many of them are in bad marriages and yet, they see these shows and feel that they have to be this kind of daughter-in-law and wife. Today, let's do a show, where a woman has hope that there is an idol, a character out there who may be in a similar situation. Will we support her walking out of that marriage?'
Is it different from other fictional shows on television today?
Yes, very different from all the shows in recent times. There is an audience today who wants to hear a different story. You lead your whole life thinking that you are married and one day, he gets bored. He has an affair. And what about you, who has made that commitment? Is marriage only your responsibility? He can have an affair, but you can't even have a mental connection? I want to know how India reacts and how much our audiences have matured. Marriages in India are considered only the woman's job. And it's unfortunate that it's not two-sided; where a man can make a mistake and a woman is supposed to forgive him. It's about mental connection, about landing up in a situation, where you realise that you have made a wrong choice. Can women walk out of that marriage? I don't know. I want my audiences to decide. It's an important story in the evolution of television. I think I have done it all for populist television. I am not being niche, but am doing another show representing another part of the country that we don't show.As we don't want to have women who can even once think that they can have the courage to walk out of their marriages, even though they are in a bad one. We want to be able to say that you don't have to be married to a bad man. You don't need to be in a marriage if it doesn't give you compatibility , self-assurance and individuality after being together. And if we, who have constantly sold to them the other side, don't do it, we will be doing disservice to the society that we live in.
Tell us what you think the end of this show should be?
If this show fails, for me, it is more a human failure than a show failure. For me, doing this show is a test at many levels. I want to see how India reacts. I am not showing a woman having an affair. But what if she says tomorrow that I don't want to go back to that marriage? I want to see how India takes this. Midpoint in the show, her husband comes out and says, `Let's be normal again.' I want women to have the courage and I hope in hell that the audience stands up and supports her. The other man actually does not matter. What matters is, will she go back to a bad marriage?
Ironically, your central character Sonali Bendre, in real life, is in a terrific marriage?
Irony is great. Sonali is in a great marriage. Women, who are in great marriages, will support women who are not in such great marriages. So, my marriage may be working, but if yours is not, I will still give you that same respect.When I signed up Sonali, she was so happily married and said to me, 'Me and my husband Goldie have kept that distance work-wise and he has given me the individuality to grow. I hope men do that and I know of many who don't. I have seen women who don't discover this after years of marriage.' It was lovely to see Goldie spending 12 hours a day at home, while Sonali was shooting 12 hours a day. Sonali Bendre starts the serial by saying, 'It's 9 years of marriage and while I don't know what may happen tomorrow, I do know that till my last day, I will be with this man.' And at that point, the love affair is exposed. You can never predict your whole life... Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Yeh. Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam... At a time when the GEC space is crowded with the usual saas-bahu soaps, Ajeeb Daastaan... will raise questions about a woman's right to economic independence. It's a departure for Ekta Kapoor in many ways, in the sense that it is riskier and finite. It also marks Sonali Bendre's debut on a fictional TV show and took 6 months of convincing her, given that she is a mother of two kids and is happily married for over a decade. Ajeeb Daastaan...required her to shoot 12 hours a day. Interestingly, it was her husband Goldie Behl who helped in convincing her to do the show.
I am nervous about how people will accept Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye-Sonali Bendre
8:04 AM
Sonali Bendre who makes her acting foray on TV with Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye talks about her role and more
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; September 27, 2014)
She was up till 5 am shooting for the finale of
Cinestars Ki Khoj. After attending to her household commitments — her
nine-year-old son Ranveer wasn’t keeping well — Sonali Bendre is back on
the sets. This time to shoot for her debut fiction soap Ajeeb Dastaan
Hai Ye. We catch up with the glamourous actress for a tete-a-tete
between her shots...
After judging half-a-dozen reality shows, finally you also got bitten by the acting bug on TV...
Yes, and I am wondering why? It’s really scary. For one, I am not used to shooting such long hours. Secondly, on reality shows I am being myself saying and doing what I want. Here, I am playing a character, something which I haven’t done for a long time. I had nightmares about shooting for the show. People say acting is like bicycle riding — once you learn, you never forget it. Still, I was apprehensive about hitting the right note. I am also nervous about how people will accept it.
What prompted you to take up the show?
Honestly, it was the role and the several shades to the character. Plus, the fact that I am playing my age. I have lived my life the way I want to and I have no desire to re-live my 20s. Another thing that appealed to me is it’s a finite show so you know where you are going and where it is ending.
Isn’t it about extra-marital relationship?
The way I look at it is it’s about the journey this woman goes through. There are layers to my character and it’s part of a plot. The way I approach the story is different. It’s about a woman who has been married off at the age of 22 after her graduation. She is a housewife and has always been somebody’s somebody. There comes a point in her life when she thinks she needs to start working. Even for a working woman like me who hasn’t been part of the industry for 10 years to start picking up from where one has left is a big deal, so imagine how it will be for a woman who has never worked to start building a life again. I connected with the role because my mother used to always tell us three sisters that we have to be independent. She was a housewife so it must have come from a place where she felt that and it reasonated with me.
The promos show your character as sweet and Apurva Agnihotri’s as arrogant.
Actually, Apurva is not arrogant but quirky, and audience will love that. He has an obsessive compulsive disorder and till you know about it, it’s irritating. But there’s a different layer to his character. That’s the beauty of this show.
What was your husband Goldie Behl’s reaction to your doing the show?
Frankly, I had said no to the show initially. The channel head Ajit (Thakur) then called up Goldie to ask why I was turning down such a good role. Goldie and I never discuss work, but Ajit knows Goldie so he called him. When Goldie heard the role he was surprised. He asked me why I was refusing when I always said I don’t want to do films because I don’t get to play my age. He was like, ‘here you are getting a role which fits you perfectly, you look good and I know you can do it.’ I was still hesitant because that would mean leaving my son for longer hours, but Goldie convinced me saying I had stayed with him for seven years and now that he is nine he also needed to be independent and it would be good for me too!
Will we see you making a comeback to films now?
No, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara was an exception. Shobha aunty (Shobha Kapoor) called my mom-in-law and I did it. Even now, though Ekta is producing the show, the channel called me. However, I wanted to make sure everything is smooth because it’s a family thing. TV is much more organised and structured compared to films. Also, I cannot go on long outdoor shoots, so no films as of now.
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