"Chanchan is very me... very real" says Sanaya Irani

Talking about Chanchan, the character - Chanchan is a very today's girl, so even though she is from a Gujju b'ground and you will see a lot of Gujju touch in her grandmother, her father but as is the case in today's generation that touch becomes lesser with every generation. She is very normal so there is a very slight touch and also because she comes from a family that doesn't impose that on her that and say that you have to talk in Gujrati or whatever, she does not have to behave in a certain way. She has full freedom to be what she wants to be… so that typical Gujarati touch will be seen in the other side of the family that is Farhan's family which has Supriya Pathak, Anang Desai and others.

I don't know if the character is similar to any film – At no point did Vipulji (producer, Vipul Shah) tell me that the character or the story is like this film or this story which I think is good too since then I won't pick up any nuances. I want to portray the character as I perceive it or the way Vipul sir has perceived it and he told me that you will make my character.  They say that it is like the film Khoobsurat but I have not seen the film so I don't know. When I was given a briefing it was just the story and the character and not related or connected and at no point was I told that it will be like this or you play it like this.

I am very similar to Chanchan - Chanchan's background, the kind of person that she is and how I am in real life is very, very close. In the serial the name Chanchan is related to my payal… she is not into dancing but it's just that since Chanchan was a child she is wearing a payal and thus wanted to name herself Chanchan. Chanchan is from a Gujju background but does not have to speak Gujju just like me in real life I am a Parsi and my mother tongue is Gujarati but I don't speak Gujarati, I speak English.

I love dogs in real life too - I was most excited when Vipulji told me that you will be a dog trainer and that there will be four dogs on the sets. That just made my day as I am very fond of dogs. In real life too I have 3 dogs at home named Kaliya, Spider and Tia. I think people should not buy dogs they should adopt them.

Shooting with the dogs - I don't have a problem but my director does as he has a problem getting them to co-ordinate for the shot. I just love dogs but it does take slightly longer to shoot since they wander around. There are four dogs in the serial and when I shoot with the bigger dog it makes me very hard to control him as he is playful and pulls me across the whole set so that is a little difficult.

My character as Khushi in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon was completely different - She was a goof ball while Chanchan is not like that. She is a girl of today who is very normal whereas Khushi came from Lucknow and was very conservative. She was not very educated and for her Bombay was like a big thing, but Chanchan is not like that at all. She is a very today's girl and she doesn't go wide eyed at things. Chanchan she is like me whereas for Khushi I had to put in very different things. Chanchan is very me… very real…

Dream role - I have none, I don't dream or anything and I just do whatever comes to me. I think there is no point to dream as it is not going to come to me just because I dream of it. I have no interest in films too.

I hope my fans like Chanchan - This is not my debut but my 4^th show and I can manage to take the responsibility. I don't feel challenged since I love to act. I give my best shot and it is a challenge to work with a different cast and crew. When you work with a different director it is a different experience as every director has a different vision so that is a challenge itself. I hope that people talk as much about Chanchan as much as they talk about Sanaya because I want people to relate to Chanchan.

On Mohit Segal also being the choice of the main lead in Chanchan - Just like everyone else I too would have liked to have Mohit as my lead but then it is finally upto the casting people who should have felt that way so I really can't do anything about that. And talking about when we will be cast together, I hope this show goes on for a while so I don't know.

Seema Khot Mattoo