Sakshi Tanwar : Television is the word

Sakshi Tanwar is also a popular name on the small screen. While she hasn't made much of a mark on the silver screen, she is happy with the work she has done on the small screen.

At a recent product launch, when we asked her whether she was feeling stagnated working in Bade Acche Lagte Hai, she shot back, "Why should I feel stagnated? On the contrary, I am happy and thrilled that at a time when serials are taken off air within three or four months due to lack of good TRPs, the show has been on air for a long time now. The serial was initially supposed to run only for 150 episodes, but due to the enormous public demand, we have made over 500 episodes. Forget about feeling stagnated, I am actually very happy with the role, and the response, that I have been getting for the show."

Her chemistry with co-star Ram Kapoor on the show cannot be missed. So what is their equation like off the screen. "I share a very healthy relation with Ram off screen as well which is why we are so comfortable onscreen. We have a lot of respect for each other. We are both comfortable and secure in our own spaces. Neither of us is insecure about the other getting more screen space."

Sakshi has acted in four Bollywood films, but hasn't seen much success there. She says, "I am very comfortable with what I am doing right now. Frankly speaking, I think the space that I have created for myself in television is something that I had never even imagined. I came from a small city with very small dreams and God today has given me a lot. So if I don't value that and keep on asking for more, then I would be disrespecting his wish".

"Whether it is Bollywood or the small screen, I am only looking for good and challenging roles. I am of the opinion that what matters is the strength of the role and not the length. Getting the right role isn't in your hands, and you cannot predict whether a film will get a proper release or whether it will click at the box office. I was excited when I got the offer to work in a movie with Sunny Deol called Mohalla Assi but it hasn't released yet. The film is based in the 1980s in Benaras on Kashinath Singh's Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi. It is about a teacher living in a historical mohalla in Benaras. Mr Deol plays the Sanskrit teacher and I play his wife. I am very proud of it, not only in terms of length but in terms of strength too, like I am proud of my role of a municipal officer in Saluun," she says.

Isn't she ambitious like other actresses? "I am ambitious and greedy but for good roles, not for money. Challenging roles is what I am greedy for, and the medium"whether films or TV"is secondary for me. I do not feel that it is the norm for every television actor to establish himself or herself in Bollywood. To each his own. I will always be indebted to television for giving me all that I needed. Why should I cut off from my roots to try and establish myself in another medium? The kind of roles that TV gives me today is far better than what I get offered in movies."

Sakshi, however, asserts that she isn't cut out to be part of a reality show like say Bigg Boss. "I cannot suppress my real self in front of the camera 24/7."