Melanie Nazareth opens up on playing Gulnaz in 'Rabb Se Hai Dua'

Melanie Nazareth is a part of the ongoing show Rabb Se Hai Dua. The actor plays the role of Gulnaz in the family drama produced by Prateek Sharma.

“I am getting a very positive response for the show. My friends from the film fraternity and even outside as well who have been following Rabb Se Hai Dua and have given a very positive response about the look, story and characters. They have good things to say about the performances. Entire process of the show has gotten a very positive response from everyone. They have told me that the show is getting very interesting. The audiences who are watching the show are sticking to watch the entire episode and are both excited and intrigued,” she says.

On how well she connects with her character, Melanie adds, “Initially it wasn’t so easy to connect with my character because she was introduced on a pretty dark note. She was aggressive, dramatic and looking for opportunities to create a scene. I am not like that in my real life, I am a very patient and tolerant person. As the show has progressed, the character has progressed as well. So what I have learned is that she doesn’t do anything, just for the heck of it, she is doing something because she is pushed to do it in order to make herself heard and seen in the house. So even if Gulnaaz resorts to aggression, it’s because she needs to defend herself. Many times she doesn’t have the support of her husband.”

So even though playing Gulnaaz did not come naturally to Melanie, with time she has learnt. Now she is “pretty cool” with her onscreen avatar and plays it “the way” she “feels is apt”.

Melanie isn’t someone who takes her character home. “Till the time I am driving back home the character stays with me for sometime as I keep thinking about what I have done in the day and how Gulnaz would react to certain things. I try to find out different ways of how this character can be improved. Once I am in the house the character is out of my mind,” she shares.

Ask if it is tough to play a Muslim character on screen because they have a certain tehzeeb and Urdu is also a difficult language? “Every culture has a tehzeeb and that’s the beauty of our diversified nation. Yes there are certain mannerisms and gestures which need to be focused on and we have learned that. During the first month of our shoot, we used to get conscious but now we all have adapted ourselves and I have gotten into the skin of character and the tehzeeb comes naturally,” she ends.