When the five-year leap in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain was announced,fans of the show were not too happy. Opposed to the idea of their favourite characters Ram and Priya separating,they voiced their opinion on social networking websites and television forums. They even bombarded the shows producer Ekta Kapoor with mails stating the same. While the makers were sure about the move throughout,Sakshi Tanwar who plays Priya on the show,was in support of the audience. At that point I believed that Ram and Priyas love story has not been given an opportunity to blossom, explains the actress. We could focus on that over the coming four to five months. Priyas pregnancy could offer a new dimension to their relationship. There was scope to explore the ups and downs a couple can go through in that phase or how a man deals with fatherhood and so on, says Tanwar. The actress,however,does not regret the leap now. The show has been able to recover its position on the ratings charts and became the second most popular show on Hindi general entertainment channels,after Diya Aur Baati Hum,last week,with a target rating point (TRP) of 5.6. When I voiced my apprehension about the leap to Ekta,she was joyous. It has been a running joke between us that if I doubt her decision,success is guaranteed, laughs Tanwar,recounting how she turned down Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii thrice before it made her character Parvati a household name. I was also unsure about the two leaps in Kahaani. and had turned down Ektas offer to do Bade Achhe Lagte Hain in 2009 before eventually taking it up two years later, she adds. However,more important to Tanwar is the evolution of her character. Back from a shooting schedule in Dubai where the show opened after the leap,the 30-something actor is glad about the challenge that her role as a working single mother offers. Priya has been a strong,mature woman throughout,an anchor to the two families her own and her husbands. But as a single mother,there is a vulnerability to her, Tanwar explains. The new track has Tanwar playing a manager at a book store in Dubai where she lives with Peehu,Priya and Rams daughter owned by Rajat Kapur (played by Samir Kochhar),a single father. Ram,meanwhile,has married Priyas sister Ayesha and believes that Priya is dead. This shift has also allowed the actress an easier work schedule as she works for only 15 days in a month. This allows her time to pursue other interests like she did when she took a two-year sabbatical after Kahaani. I worked as a creative director with Doordarshan,acted in a short film Bawra Mann and travelled extensively, she says. While she is yet to chalk out a career plan,she is sure that reality shows will not be a part of it. I cannot see myself on a reality show. I am a private person and dont believe in letting aspects of my personal life become public knowledge. That is the reason why in spite of requests from fans and friends such as Ram Kapoor,I still dont have a Twitter or Facebook account, says Tanwar.
