Desires 8211; Fulfilled or unfulfilled?

How did you feel when Hasratein was going off?Great. It's been a victory. For four years we've been successful. There was always a fear t...

How did you feel when Hasratein was going off?
Great. It8217;s been a victory. For four years we8217;ve been successful. There was always a fear that people may at some stage get bored, so wind up at its peak. It8217;s been a race and we reached the winning post without any obstacles.

Are you missing Hasratein?
Not really. As I said we left it at a point where it should have ended. I8217;d have been dissatisfied if it didn8217;t reach a proper end. And I always had 208 episodes in my mind.

When you started Hasratein were you confident you8217;d make it?
In 1990 when I did the serial in Marathi. I8217;d tell everyone that when I make it in Hindi it8217;s going to be an international serial. I was confident that once it hits the air it8217;ll change my life.

What do you think has been the reason behind its success?
Firstly the powerful story. Then the conviction of the writer and director. And also the natural ways of portraying things and the performances.

Never. Even the last episode had a lot of potential and the response was terrific. In fact I feel I could have done 200 more episodes and gone on for four more years but there are more projects I want to do. One has to move on.

Do you think Hasratein can be made again?
Hasratein can never be made again. Like the Taj Mahal can8217;t be built again. Producers 8211; Sangeeta Sinha wife of Ajai, Raakesh Shah Brother in law of Ajai.

As producers did you feel that Hasratein could have gone further?
No, we felt it was a right decision. We got all the love and attention of our viewers throughout and we8217;ve been really happy about it. We decided to stop it when it was doing extremely well and people will remember it always. Money is not our criteria. We never did it for money but only because we got to do what we wanted to.

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Did you anticipate that Hasratein would be a big success?
Yes, we did. And it8217;s mainly because of our writer amp; Ajaiji. Today Anand Films and Telecommunications is mainly because of Hasratein.

Actor 8211; Dharmesh Vyas Professor Shyam and Savvy8217;s husband.
How was your experience working in Hasratein?
It8217;s been wonderful. How four year passed by I didn8217;t come to know. I was not ready to accept the fact that it was ending. I feel it should have gone on but it8217;s good we left and at its peak. It8217;s been very satisfying to the actor within one, portraying Shyam Verma. It was with Hasratein that people started noticing me and I registered as Professor Shyam of Hasratein. It was such a mature role.

How was Ajai Sinha as a director?
Great. He explained things so well and I8217;d do it. Being a Gujarati theatre actor he even helped one in the Hindi pronounciation. Actress 8211; Shefali Chaya Savvy.

How much do you think Hasratein contributed in Shefali Chaya8217;s success?
Hasratein contributed a lot to what I8217;m today. It put me into a different league. It made me the main lead actress or in the league of a central character. After Hasratein people started taking me seriously. It got me the Zee Woman Award of 1997.

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Did you feel bad when if was ending?
Honestly I wasn8217;t majorly emotionally attached to it. I wanted it to end because I don8217;t like stories without an end. It had a definite end though I wasn8217;t very happy with it because it ended like any other episode. It had no grand finale. People still ask me whether it ended.

How much did you relate to the character of Savvy?
Completely. There were ladies who would come up to me and tell me that 8212; this is exactly what I8217;m going through. Such things happen in life. I enjoyed doing it.

How do you find Ajai as a director?
It was great working with Ajaji. He always treated us like kids.

Have you ever thought 8212; what if Hasratein hadn8217;t have happened to you?
No! If not Hasratein, something else would have happened. Probably it8217;d have taken a longer time. And even now I don8217;t think I8217;ve reached anywhere. I8217;ve a long way to go. I don8217;t think of the past or future but only of today 8211; that8217;s how I live.

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Actor Harsh Chaya KT
What was your experience of Hasratein?
It was one of the best experiences. I8217;ve been pampered and spoilt by Mr Sinha and now I feel if I don8217;t get another director like him I could be in trouble. Playing KT8217;s role was very satisfying. I tried to do the best to my understanding. And Ajaiji is a very good director. He works on his shots, on the scenes and does not just zoom in and zoom out.

How did you feel when it was going off the air?
Feel what? It was an assignment that got over. It was the right place to end it. It was a good thing that it ended on a right note. I believe it8217;s good to be off when you8217;re talked about than when people start talking foul about you.