radha syam

He was a model reluctant to get into television. She was a small-time actress waiting to make it big. Now, Indraneil Sengupta and Barkha Bisht are the new Barjatya couple on TV as Rajshri Productions forays into STAR Plus with Pyaar Ke Do Naam… Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam.

The young twosome was in the city on Wednesday to promote the new soap, which goes on air from April 3, every Monday to Thursday at 8 pm.

Revolving around reincarnation, the soap has both Indraneil and Barkha playing two characters each in two periods, one contemporary, the other in the 1960s. With a record eight songs, in true Barjatya style, Pyaar Ke Do Naam... "is inspired by the classical love saga of Radha and Shyam", with these two lovers destined to be with each other in every birth.

Having made it from among 800-odd candidates, Barkha is sure one happy girl. "I did MTV's Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi after winning the Balaji-MTV talent hunt last year," recalls the girl who studied in Calcutta for two years. "Thereafter I did bit roles in Balaji serials like Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai and Kavyanjali. This is the first time I am getting to play a lead role."

For Indraneil, a Bengali model born and brought up in Ahmedabad and seen in commercials like VIP Frenchie and Indigo Marino, the Rajshri offer was almost force fed. "After being offered B-grade sex flicks, I got an American agent for myself who asked me to just go for this audition," says the man who was considered for the lead of Anjan Das's Iti Srikanta. "Right through the different stages of auditions, they kept asking me to get rid of my long hair and stubble but I kept refusing. Finally, I had to, when the deal was almost sealed."

Since then, both Barkha and Indraneil have become Raadha and Shyaam by day and Shyama and Kishan by night. "It's really difficult to go through three costume changes in a day for the two different characters I play," says Indraneil. "But I have developed a liking for acting and it is quite fun now."

Having shot 20 episodes already, Barkha feels special. "It's a different feeling altogether when you know that the show is about you," she says. "And the Barjatyas give that kind of respect and importance to you on the sets."

Incidentally, neither Indraneil nor Barkha spoke on the sets till they actually shot together. "I thought he was so snooty he couldn't even say a 'Hi' to me, but later I found out that he was just a reserved guy," says Barkha. "Now, we are really good friends and the chemistry shows on screen."

We have to wait till April 3 to find out. Pyaar Ke Do Naam... is being handled by Kavita Barjatya and directed by Kaushik Ghatak.