'I am very much a Mumbai chi Mulgi' - Shilpa Tulaskar

Shilpa Tulaskar, who was seen playing Nurse Padma in Dill Mill Gayye plays the perfect Mumbaiker and a working woman in Sony and Optimystix' show Ladies Special.

Here is the talented actress in an exclusive conversation with Telly Buzz..

What is Ladies Special all about?
Ladies Special is about four women who are very different from each other, but become friends as they travel in the same compartment in the ladies special train. The one and half hour journey to the office and then back home gives a lot of time for the four women to bond with each other. They make their life interesting by doing fun activities together.

What do you think is the USP of Ladies Special?
I would say it's the simplicity with which the stories are being told. Also, the plots are very sensible, and stand out from the rest of the programming that prevails today. The show speaks about a different world that is seen inside the train. The production values of the show is also very good.

Is this program about all the women who travel in local trains?
Mumbai is a city of millions of people and out of that, a large majority of women travel. Now we cannot say our story is about each and every one of them. These four characters have been created with an attempt to represent the vast majority of working females.

Why did you choose to take up this show?
Well, I have been waiting for long to do something like this. In my career spanning 14 long years, I have always given priority to the quality of work, and have done one Hindi movie and four Marathi movies. TV is a different platform altogether where things are not in your control. A show's success and failure on television is also related to various factors unknown to us; so making yourself comfortable in the role you get is what really matters. I took this up as a new challenge.

Why were you away from the spotlight for so long?
That's because I was on maternity leave.

But you were due to come back on Dill Mill Gayye, what happened there?
When they called me to resume work, it was too early. My baby was only two months old, and hence I decided not to take it up.

Tell us about your character.
My character's name is Nanda Shinde. She is a typical middle class female who struggles to understand her teenage daughter. There is an internal struggle that Nanda has to deal with while trying to maintain a rapport with her daughter. On the other hand, she has a very loving husband, and together the parents try to give their kids an educational system which is something beyond their reach. The parents are ready to walk an extra mile, so that their kids are secure and happy.

Are you a Mumbai mulgi?
Yes I'm very much a Mumbai chi mulgi. I've been born and brought up in Mumbai and I've tasted all the flavors this city has to offer, including traveling by Best buses or electric trains.

So tell us about your personal experience of travelling in trains.
Well traveling in trains is definitely time saving. And when I travel many a times no one recognizes me. And when they do, I end up feeling like a zoo monkey (laughs). Sometimes it so happens that a person boldly comes up to me and tells me about the things that they like or dislike about the character that I'm playing.

As an actor and also a mother in real life, what is the message that you would like to give the audience watching Ladies Special.
Ladies Special is the story about all those working women who walk on a tight rope every single day, and try their best to balance both their personal as well as professional lives with finesse. Unlike the men who get a Sunday to enjoy, the women work on all seven days without making any fuss, so that they bring happiness to people around them.

Your message to your fans.
Please watch Ladies Special because only when you watch it, TRPs will increase and such shows with a difference will get encouraged even more….

Reporter: Ranjini Nair
Author: Susan Jose