| Shithal Thakkar seen in Kittu Sab Janti Hain among other serials dreams of playing Rani Mukherjee's role in Black and Julia Roberts' in Erin Brockowich. PREMA K corners her for a tte--tte Which are your shows on air?
'Kittu Sab Janti Hain' and 'Rishtoh Ki Dorr', that is to be aired soon. Isn't the show being delayed for too long? People think it's being scrapped!
No, no. We were to come on air earlier but now everything's sorted out. What are you doing in it?
It's about a brother and his three sisters. I'm playing the eldest sister, Shubhangi. We don't have parents so I'm almost like a mother figure to my siblings. She's already married in the beginning of the show but there are some problems that come into her marriage. I have a very earthy and Indian look in it. Shubhangi is very sweet and is the ideal bahu. And 'Kittu Sab Janti Hain'?
I'm playing a psychotic character. It's good fun to be playing two contrasting characters at one time. What's interesting about Kajal's character is that she's not negative just for the sake of being so. She's psychotic. This explains her negative behaviour. It's very challenging for an actress to play negative characters. It sets you thinking. How did you begin your television career?
I started with 'Swabhimaan'. I was studying then and later took a break from acting to continue with it. I did 'Aurat', 'Parivartan' and 'Aashirwad' after that. I was a full-time television actress then. I've also done 'Kareena Kareena' and 'Yeh Meri Life Hai'. I've also done a Gujarati play, 'Aflatoon' with Neeraj Vora. I'm also a Bharat Natyam dancer. You seem to have done a lot of negative characters?
My character, Ritu, 'Swabhimaan' had various shades to it. It started by being a positive character who later falls in love and gets cheated. It was a great beginning for a newcomer. It was also great fun as I was doing my graduation and also doing my Hotel Management. I shot on my free days. People still remember me as Ritu. My character, Purnima, in 'Yeh Meri Life Hai' started by being nave and graduated to being slightly negative where I marry my sister's boyfriend. It's great fun to play all kinds of characters. I started acting when I was very young. So it's been a good journey starting with young peppy characters and graduating to mature characters. How about films?
No films so far. But yes, I'm looking into it now. I'm not looking at mainstream cinema but I'd like slightly offbeat films. I find their stories more interesting and they are also very performance-oriented. I want performance-oriented stuff only. Otherwise it's just not worth it. I can't put talent to waste. I haven't yet got film offers but will start looking for some. All this while I've been more interested in concentrating on television. How about theatre?
I've always been unfortunate that every time a good play came my way, my hectic television schedule never permitted me to take it up. The timing has never been right. Any dream role?
Lots of them but I'd love to do Rani Mukherjee's role in 'Black'. Even Julia Roberts' 'Erin Brockowich'. Do you feel television actors get a good deal in films?
Times are changing now but mainstream cinema never really offers good work to television actors. Most times television actors too are to be blamed for taking up mediocre roles. This hampers the image of television actors. But crossover films today have given us great scope. What's happening in your personal life?
I've just been doing crazy things. Like for instance, I had a few days off recently and I called up an actor-friend of mine. She was also free and both of us decided to go on a five-day holiday to Bangkok. Are you married?
I've been married to a stockbroker for almost six years. How about a kid?
At times I feel I've had a child marriage. I feel I need to grow up before having a kid. But I have a very supportive husband and in-laws. We all live together so I don't have to stress myself to even look at the day-to-day running of the house.
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