||Bonding with so called 'Intellectuals' #CC 16 IO - Page 79

Popularly known as Anandi's Teacherji in Balika Vadhu, actress Sadiya Siddiqui, is trying her best to cope up with the changing trends of the television industry.

"I come from a time jab television mein performance pe dhyaan diya jata tha and not on makeup," says Sadiya, who shot to fame more than a decade ago with the show, Banegi Apni Baat. She was in Lucknow recently to promote her upcoming serial, Satrangi Sasural.

ALSO READ: Sadiya Siddiqui, Raymon Singh join hands for Shapath!

She adds, "As cliched as it may sound, it is indeed true that Indian television today has become extremely commercial and TRP-driven.That is why , viewers are now turning towards Pakistani serials and loving them 'coz they find them sensible. But you see, Indian television has produced similar shows in the past. Serials like Campus, Banegi Apni Baat, Tara, etc are examples of that time. I never knew the TRPs of my shows back then. We as a team focussed only on our acting and the script."

Even though Sadiya is adjusting a lot with the present working style of the industry , one thing that she is sure of is never using a body double for her scenes. "I am against the idea of using a body double. It's not about whether the viewers get to know or not, but my conscience just doesn't allow me to do that. I want to be physically present in each of my scenes," she says.

Is that the reason why she is so choosy about her projects? "I can't do anything that comes my way . Well, an interesting fact is that whether it was the character of Radha bua in Sasural Genda Phool or Sandhya in Balika Vadhu, most of the roles that I did were written keeping me in mind. I was surprised when Purnendu Shekhar, the writer of Balika Vadhu, told me that he had written the role keeping me in mind. Such a thing is rare to see on Indian television," she says.