Smita Bansal wow'S

The popular television show "Balika Vadhu" completes 1,000 episodes Monday and Smita Bansal, who plays protagonist Anandi's mother-in-law, says it's a rare feat and that she enjoyed every minute of the long-running soap.

The popular television show "Balika Vadhu" completes 1,000 episodes Monday and Smita Bansal, who plays protagonist Anandi's mother-in-law, says it's a rare feat and that she enjoyed every minute of the long-running soap.

"It's a very good feeling. There are very few shows that complete 1,000 episodes. It is a very good show, the team is very nice. I have enjoyed every moment on the show. It means a lot that people have appreciated this show, in which everyone has put in so much of hard work," Smita told IANS.

The show went on air July 21, 2008 and she has been associated with it since beginning.

Talking about her experience, she said: "Initially, when I started playing Anandi's mother-in-law, she was very small. I myself have a young daughter, so it (playing a mom) was not an alien concept to me. When she grew up, it became difficult for me to relate to her. But my character has also grown and it comes naturally to me now. The motherly care and love comes naturally. I have been playing it for four years."

The 35-year-old has been a known face on small screen. She has done shows like "Itihaas", "Amanat", "Sarhadein", "Yeh Meri life Hai" and "CID".

Right now she wants to concentrate on "Balika Vadhu" and adds that her mother was her inspiration behind playing the ideal daughter-in-law. In the show, Smita's character is dominated by her mom-in-law, played by Surekha Sikri.

"Initially, it was tough for me to play the daughter-in-law's part because I am not like my character at all. I am a very talkative person. But while playing the role, I thought about my mother. She is my role model as I have seen her doing all this. My mother doesn't say anything in front of her in laws," she said.

Smita says that apart from the theme of the show, which is about child marriage and its consequences, the Rajasthani look of the show attracted her.

"I belong to Jaipur, so I got attracted. At that time, there were not so many Rajasthan-based shows. The songs and the costumes attracted me. The story was also interesting and the way child marriage was dealt was good. I was also told that we will be dealing with other social issues also. This convinced me to do the show. I thought it was a different show," she said.