Priya Badlani, the Anya has Strong Projec

They did it to R. Madhavan, Shefali Chhaya and Irrfan Khan in Banegi Apni Baat, Jennifer Kotwal and Chandana Sharma in Just Mohabbat and to Mona Singh in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. And with their latest offering Jabb Love Hua on Zee TV, which started on April 24, and currently carrying a Mela sequence, Tony and Deeya Singh are all set to do it once again, to make a star out of a newcomer. And this time, the lucky girl is Priya Badlani.

"I was plain lucky that things worked out with Tony and Deeya Singh, otherwise I wasn't very hopeful," says the newcomer adding that this serial wasn't planned but just fell into her lap, "I wanted to go for auditions and had made it very clear to my agency because I wanted to take a sabbatical from modelling. As I wanted to act, I thought this was the best way as it would help me know more about characters, roles etc. But then they (Tony and Deeya) liked me and everything fell in place."

According to the bubbly actress, casting is the most important aspect for any serial and Tony and Deeya are masters in selecting the right actor. "Tony and Deeya are very good with casting. When they audition you a couple of times, you know they are interested. It's just a process. There were a series of tests but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it." How did she find the shift from ads to TV? "I have been into ads for almost three-and-a-half years now and have a number of big ad films to my credit. But ad films are like child's stuff when compared to either films or TV. TV is real hard work. More than six to seven scenes are bound to be canned in one day. But at the end of the day, it's a satisfying experience."

Talking about her character 'Anya' in the serial, Priya says, "My character in a nutshell, is a rich, spoilt brat. She is a girl from a very affluent family who goes through a lot of changes. She realises that there is more to life than superficial things. It's a very strong character."

Does that mean she is confident of Anya going on to become a craze like Jassi? "Well, I hope it does. I am sure lot of people will relate to it. Hope everyone would relate to it someway or the other," says a confident Priya flashing her dimples. At the same time, she was quick to clarify that her character has no similarity to Jassi and is exactly the opposite of the plain jane. "Anya's look is very glamourous. She is very bright. She comes from such a liberal background that for her wearing a short skirt or revealing clothes is not a big thing at all."

We heard that the entire serial was shot outdoors in Mahabaleshwar. How was the experience? "It was fabulous. It was great fun. Both Tony and Deeya are hard task masters and they are perfectionists. It's a different set-up from most other set-ups. It involves a lot of creativity. After working with them you emerge with a lot of experience." And her co-stars? "Sudeep (Sahir) is just amazing. He has made my job easier. Each of the characters fit the bill. Rameshwari (veteran actress) who plays Sudeep's mum is an experienced actress. I have just done two to three scenes with her till now, but the experience was wonderful."

So what now since her dream of acting in front of the camera has come true? "Wait, I didn't want to be in front of the camera, rather when I finished my graduation, I wanted to be behind it but destiny had planned otherwise. But, at the moment I am happy doing what I am doing," clarifies Priya.

Now that she is all set for stardom, is she ready for the downside, gossip, invasion of privacy etc? "At the end of the day we are all humans. Let's see how things work out. I hope I will handle all that well. But the one thing that matters most is one's work," she explains.

And what about films? Wouldn't she want to be seen on the big screen as well? "Films definitely interest me. Every actor wants to do films. But at the moment I am doing this. Let's see what's next," was her answer, but at the same time, she also lists the kind of roles she would want to do on the silver screen, "There are so many roles I would love to play. Like Sridevi in Sadma, Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. In fact I won this role (of Anya) by enacting the disagreement scene between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in the film about whether men and women can be friends or not. I had seen the film so many times. I could enact the scene really well. I guess they kind of liked it and I was on." Priya sure has a lot of stars in her eyes. But there is indeed a long way to go before she gets to play the roles of her dreams!