"I told that we shouldn't have any kind of complicated friction between Praful and Hansa" - Supriya Pathak

It has been over two decades that we have been treated with the now-iconic role of Hansa, played by the legendary Supriya Pathak.

The lines, 'main toh thak gayi Bhaisahab', 'Praful, ___ matlab?" And so many more are synonymous to jokes, memes and a constant conversation. Recently, Khichdi came in with a sequel after almost thirteen years, Khichdi 2: Mission Panthukistaan and the film did reasonably well at the box office. 

Now, as the film has released digitally on Zee5 for you to enjoy, we got in an exclusive chat with Pathak where we asked about her first reaction when she got the character all these years ago and how has the role evolved, according to her.

You portray the role of Hansa in Khichdi which is etched in people’s heart for over a decade now. What was your first reaction when you heard about the character? And how has Hansa evolved over the years as per you?

"When I first learned about this role, it was JD and Aatish who approached me. I had known them for quite some time, and they were just starting their show when they approached me with this project. Initially, they approached my mother for a part in the show, and she did end up playing a role. Then, they asked me to read the script and choose which role I would like to play. I always felt that the speaking part in a television serial is often more prominent. 

When I chose Hansa as my character, it was because, if you see Hansa as a character, she doesn't really do much. This was something I questioned, but I really loved her character. I loved the way she was portrayed in the first episode they read out, and I knew I wanted to play her. I told them I'd like to play Hansa, which was great because I thought she was very lovable. I fell in love with her character from the very beginning. 

There were a lot of negativities going on in the other shows between the daughters-in-law of the house. We said no. We're not going to do that.

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Hansa has evolved over time; she has been shaped over a period since we started off. There were a few things that Aatish and I discussed at the beginning, which have changed over time. She slowly grew into what she is now. We started adding a lot of elements to her character and subtracted a few things. We added a lot more innocence to her character because that's what we believed in. I remember there was one episode in the earlier portions where another woman comes into Praful's life and that, creating a kind of love triangle. I felt a little uneasy about that because there was so much of that happening on television at that time. 

So, we wanted to go against the norms at that time. I told Aatish that we shouldn't have any kind of complicated friction between Praful and Hansa. They should just be two fools who are so much in love with each other, and they don't see beyond each other. So, we did that. And then, of course, there was the other thing where Jaishree and Hansa were concerned. There were a lot of negativities going on in the other shows between the daughters-in-law of the house. We said no. We're not going to do that. These two never have any problems. They're so happy and well together. So, these were the kinds of things that just evolved into it."

Khichdi 2 - Mission Panthukistaan is currently streaming on Zee5.