Mumbai, Dec 10 (IANS) Television actress Shweta Tiwari has a problem. She almost completed her first Bhojpuri film "Hamar Saiyyan Hindustani" when her co-star Ravi Kishan left to take part in Sony TV's game show "Bigg Boss".
The film is stalled for now. Naturally, Shweta is not at all happy.
"He has left for 'Bigg Boss'. And now my film is stuck. Why don't they just eliminate him so he can come back and complete my film? We still have 20 percent of the film to complete," Shweta told IANS.
Shweta had no problem speaking Bhojpuri. "My family is from Allahabad. So, I know Bhojpuri. But I'm a Mumbai girl."
Recently, Shweta stunned everyone by announcing on STAR One's
celebrity dance show "Nach Baliye 2" that her husband Raja had taken ill and that she'd be dancing alone.
"I don't even want to remember the nightmare of the past week. It was a hard decision," said Shweta after the enforced solo performance. "But I had no choice."
Her husband was detected with lever abscess just two days before the shoot.
"We were shattered. It started suddenly with a back pain. He couldn't stand properly. No medication worked... We kept hoping he'd be okay before the shoot. But it was impossible. It was very upsetting. Though my choreographer did my husband's steps we both missed him.
"My husband urged me to go on the show and show them the item that we had planned. It was upsetting. But when everyone said I had won the contest by going there and dancing on behalf of both me and my husband, I felt better."
Shweta says that balancing "Kasauti Zindagi Kay" and "Nach Baliye 2" rehearsals was not easy.
"I'd shoot for my serial 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay' from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. I'd rehearse for 'Nach Baliye 2'. Though I wasn't trained, I love dancing. Put on
music and you can't stop me from swaying.
Until 'Nach Baliye', I never knew my husband liked dancing.
"Poor guy! He worked so hard to keep up with me. He rehearsed so hard for that week's episode. And then he couldn't perform. Never mind!"
Shweta is seen on television exclusively in Balaji's "Kasauti Zindagi Kay".
"And that's the way I like it. No point in doing several serial since all of them are almost the same. But I do a lot of other things such as ads, I'm an RJ on FM Radio I've the Bhojpuri film 'Hamar Saiyyan Hindustani', which my husband Raja has produced.
"My husband is doing two daily soaps. I was doing a serial with Vinod Pande when Raja came to meet him. That's how we met."
About her mythic animosity with her "Kasauti..." co-star Cezanne Khan, Shweta says: "We don't get along, that's it. It often happens in work
places. As I came to know him there were things about him that irritated me.
We'd argue and fight. I thought it better to keep away completely. We don't talk to each other at all. On camera we're professional."
Will "Kasauti Zindagi Kay" end soon?
"The show must go on. It's still so popular. And frankly I enjoy doing TV.
I'm earning well. And everyone is so sweet to me. The spot boy gets biryani and dosa when I want. My family looks after my daughter Palak.
"I do miss spending time with her. She comes on the sets. Everyone on the sets pampers her silly. And besides, we get five days off every month. One has to make sacrifices to get something in life. But yes, it's the same serial every day. And I do get tired. In five years I've made sure to not look repetitive. That challenge has kept me going."
--By Subhash K. Jha