Here's the article mentioned now.
The glamourous side of me is still hidden…"
8 2007
In today's world of Indian television where bahu-beti rule she has broken all barriers to make a mark as a young achiever… as a good looking and level-headed cadet from the army force hers is a strong character on screen. Priyanka Bassi aka Naina Singh from SAB TV's
Left, Right, Left has no qualms of getting into a no make-up deglamourised look while her contemporaries are all decked up to face the camera.
It's been a year since she has donned this avatar and here she tells Seema S. Mattoo how the journey so far has been.
It's as usual a busy day for Priyanka who has to be on the sets for 12 hours daily shooting for Left, Right, Left yet her pretty face does not show a glimpse of fatigue as she is enjoying her work.. which has got her fame and recognition with more to come.
Sitting comfortably in her make-up room after giving a rather intense shot she looks content with herself. However, when the role was offered to her she was reluctant to do a serial with such a strong army background as she felt that Priyanka the person was totally different from the character Naina that she was to portray, "I got a call from Deeya and I went for the audition as the creative team Satyam and Sukesh (who were also the creative heads at Bombay Talking) had suggested me but I was very reluctant initially. Goliyaan chalana, idhar udhar bhagna-daudna, chotein lagwana was a bit too much so I refused but Deeya called me, convincing me saying 'I see Naina in you and I want you to do this role.'
However, once I said Ok to the role I was very serious about the way I would portray herself and went with all the boys for army training. "we were all sent to the Raigad Military Academy. I was the only girl with four guys and we were made to stay there for four days in dormitories.It was a fantastic experience. We were like real cadets at the training place where we would get up at 5 am, have breakfast, participate in the morning drills, we were taught table etiquettes, and lights out would be at 8 pm. We had to follow all the rules. Even now we have trained professionals from army cadet schools coming over to teach us the drills if there is strenuous activity being shot."
Bombay Talking was Priyanka's first serial where she played the role of Sheena, a glamourous, young, aspiring model very close to the real life Priyanka but surprisingly she relates more to Naina, "It was a big challenge for me to transform myself to Naina after Sheena. She is the one who is leading the whole show, it is Naina's story and each and every character is seen from her eyes. I relate to Naina more as I did not relate to Sheena even though she was a girl coming from small town aspiring to be an actress because somewhere Sheena had gone over the top as she would go ahead and say anything to anybody and even though she was very sweet and simple she had tricks in her mind which Priyanka never has and Sheena also would manipulate others and have the whole world at her toes which again Priyanka can never do.
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