Maira D Mehra on being part of Dalchini: This is one of the dearest characters I have played so far

It is a totally different feeling to be able to relate emotionally to your character, says actress Maira D Mehra, who plays the title role in Ravie Dubey and Sargun Mehta’s Dalchini. The actress adds that she feels blessed to have bagged a character who is so much like her. 

“Dalchini has become one of dearest characters that I have played so far. Not only am I playing the role of Dalchini, I am living this character each and every day. The core characteristics of Dalchini and Maira are exactly the same. The way Dalchini treasures family and makes sure to cherish every individual around her, I am the same. But obviously, Dalchini is brought up in a pind, and I don’t share that background with her, so that part is different,” she says.

She adds, “I used to love Dalchini before she got married. Earlier, she was quite bindas and used to do everything. Now, she still does, but has more responsibilities on her shoulder now that she is married. She is and will always be more bindaas but there is difference in the spark because after marriage responsibilities come Together. Hence, her character has many more emotional sequences. I do enjoy these, but for me, action sequences have always been more fun!”

In fact, thinking about the way her character has progressed often makes her nostalgic. “I miss the old Dalchini! She would be jumping from one place to another. I, too, enjoy doing all sorts of stunts even if I get bruises. Her clothes before marriage used to be very comfortable (haha). Talking about emotional scenes, I try to make them as natural as possible. I try not to take glycerine unless I really have to. The camera captures our performances from different angles and, at times, we are shooting the same scene multiple times. So, during this time, it gets tough to perform without glycerine.  But in the initial first two takes, I make sure to cry naturally,” she says. 

I miss the old Dalchini! She would be jumping from one place to another. I, too, enjoy doing all sorts of stunts even if I get bruises. Her clothes before marriage used to be very comfortable (haha).

- Maira D Mehra

Meanwhile, the show is being shot in Punjab. Talking about the same, she says, “In the show, I am from Moga and the Dhillon family is from Chandigarh. So initially we had to learn a bit of Punjabi, and inculcate the accent. Although challenging, it was indeed a beautiful and a unique journey. My favourite scene, until now, has been the Dandavat scene. It was very cold, like five, six degrees when we were shooting this. I was wearing a very thin kurta and performing on the streets of Morinda, the place where we were shooting. The scene was something really different and I've never done this sort of a scene and the one where I entered the real vegetable market and actually saw everyone shouting, people running here and there. It was the place where I did so many stunts, and all of it was totally real .”