3 min readDec 6, 2013 04:18 AM IST
It took Divyanka Tripati four years after ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhann’ to find her next daily soap project — ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein’. She talks about waiting for her ideal role.
My current show ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein’ is adapted from a novel by Delhi-based author Manju Kapur called Custody. It is a story that traces the journey of a married businessman (Karan Patel) and a Tamilian girl (Divyanka Tripathi).
When I read the novel for the first time,I fell in love with the characters. What really struck me was how nobody was portrayed in an outwardly positive or negative light. Each plot turn was situational,and the story really grips you.
So,when Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji offered me the role of Ishita,I jumped at it. No actor can refuse a combination of a good story,a Balaji production and the show being aired on Star Plus.
The offer came to me after a gap of almost three years. Back then I was doing ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhann’,and was tired of doing the same kind of roles. It was at that time that I decided to move to comedy shows.
I was a part of Mr. and Mrs. Sharma Allahabadwale and even did a stint with Comedy Circus. Comedy is not for everyone. It’s entirely a different type of schooling in acting.
I’ve always wanted to explore different types of roles,and prove to others that Divyanka is not all about being a timid dulhan. Comedy is far more difficult as it involves improvisation and impromptu acting,and as an actor that came as a welcome break for me.
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It is not easy for an actor to take such a long break,but one has to mix around with one’s options otherwise people typecast you. That’s the reason why I am okay if people have forgetten me.
In fact,I want people to forget me after a show. I’d rather that they remember my character and not me. I am not in Bollywood. I’m a TV actor and I’m very clear-headed about my job. Being a TV actor is quite different from being a movie star and I always try and highlight my character. It is the reason why I am more inclined to taking frequent sabbaticals,so that when I return people can identify with the character I play. That way,people love you for what they see on screen. When they meet you,they call you by your character’s name,and that is true success for me.
For such a character (Ishita) I would have gladly waited another year. She is a Tamilian girl,born and brought up in Delhi. I didn’t have to learn the accent because the set-up is fairly urban. She is fluent in Hindi and English as well. But I had to learn a couple of words,like addressing my parents as Amma and Appa. Some of our light and sound dadas on the set were Tamilian,so I would sit with them and perfect some words and I would keep asking them to correct me whenever I went wrong. I was determined to not hurt the sentiments of my Tamil speaking audience.
