'It is 100% a challenge to step into Sudha Chandran's shoes.'

Do you think that it is challenging to step into the shoes of a veteran actress like Sudha Chandran in Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga on Sahara One?

It is 100% a challenge to step into Sudha Chandran's shoes. In fact replacing any actress on a show is a challenge. Viewers get used to the face of the actress and take time to accept someone new.

What of Sudha Chandran's style of essaying this role would you like to imbibe in Kalyani Devi? Will you develop your own style of enacting Kalyani Devi too?

The Kalyani Devi look, costume and hairstyle are the same. She is a strong woman. She has a distinct way of walking and talking. However I am not trying to follow Sudha Chandran's style. I have my inputs while essaying Kalyani Devi's role.

The very fact that you are a good dancer too, was that one of the factors which was kept in mind while zeroing on you to replace Sudha Chandran?

Both Sudha Chandran and I may be good dancers. But that is not why I was chosen for this role.

Sudha Chandran had told me that according to her Kalyani Devi is not negative. What are your views?

Kalyani Devi surely isn't negative. She is very strong and dominating. She runs her household and the entire business. She wants the best for her daughters. 

She is blinded by love for her daughters. She wants the best for them. She wishes that her daughters undergo no hardship whatsoever. She is quite overbearing which her kids find tough to handle. Whatever she does ,what she feels is in the best intentions of the family.

Some actors had labeled this show as a saas jamai saga. Would you give the show the same tag?

Maybe it is a saas jamai saga in a way. I however feel that it is more of a mother – daughter story.

Do you think there is anything wrong about being a ghar jamai?

No self-respecting mother would want her son-in-law to be a ghar jamai. No self-respecting man is a ghar jamai unless he has ulterior motives. I wouldn't want my husband to be a ghar jamai.

Have you been watching this show from its inception?

I would watch the show on and off but not daily.

You are a talented theatre actress too. Do you think that TV actors who come from a theatre background make better TV actors?

Not really. Many newcomers who have no theatre experience are great TV actors too. After all practice makes a man perfect. However I must admit that the stage gives an actor a different kind of exposure.

What about the Indian TV industry would you like to change?

Thanks to CINTAA our working hours are far more organized now. We don't have to work more than 12 hours a day. However there is scope for things to be organized even better. 

Given the opportunity which historical character would you like to essay?

Rani Laxmibai. We've been hearing her story with awe ever since our childhood. She was truly a woman of substance. It would be a challenge to play her.    

Reporter: Pallavi Bhattacharya