| | tushar.joshi@mid-day.com | | Rucha Gujarathi | Till date, she has been wreaking havoc in Kumud's life in the Sony daily Kkusum. But Rucha Gujarathi, who plays Kali, seems to have turned over a new leaf by taking on a positive role in Rihhaee (Sony).
Gujarathi plays Shalini, an 18-year-old girl, who falls victim to her neighbour's sexual advances.
Says Rucha, "I have been playing Kali for a long time now, and I've had a great time. With this new role, I think I have scope to play a more mature and serious role. I took it as a challenge and am very satisfied with the end result."
Playing the role of the neighbour who molests her is Jiten Lalvani, who plays Kiran Virani (Mihir's brother) in Kyunki…. "I was doing lot of positive roles, so I decided to do something different."
Produced by BAG Films, Rihhaee recently added a fictional organisation to the show, the National Commission for Crimes Against Women (NCCW), a group that fights for the rights of women.
Rucha says she is proud to be a part of a show that reflects the prevalent issues in society and addresses them boldly.
"I think pedophiles exist in our society as one often reads and hears about uncles and relatives exploiting their own kin. They are perverts who need to be adequately punished," she says.
Rucha says the character of Shalini was completely different from her popular role as Kali.
"Shalini is definitely more realistic. Since I knew there were people like her out there who have gone through such horrific experiences, I had to be very careful."
When asked if she was worried about the way the molestation scene would be shot, she said, "Yes. Initially, I was skeptical about what the director had in mind. But it has been aesthetically shot and on TV there is no scope for exposure."
Rucha says that she had to play Shalini as realistically as possible. "My father, played by Harsh Chhaya (Dr Manas of Astitva), is shown to be an alcoholic who can't look after his wife and his family. In fact, when his daughter gets molested, she falls from the top floor and is severely injured and that's when he realises how irresponsible he has been and decides to rehabilitate himself," she says. tushar.joshi@mid-day.com |
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