Apara..:)

She is the small screen's favourite mom-in-law. In fact if truth be told, actor Apara Mehta with her glamorous looks and natural acting has made the word mother-in-law fashionable. Recently In town with her on screen bahu Smriti Irani, to stage the play Kuch Tum Kaho, Kuch Hum Kahein at Kala Mandir, the affable and voluble Mehta while getting ready for the evening's show said: "You've seen Smriti and me on screen for the last five years, now you can watch us set the stage afire with our chemistry."

Like in the serial— Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi— the duo play a similar role in the play. While Mehta is a mother-in-law who has sacrificed a promising painting career , Smriti plays her ambitious daughter-in-law. A conflict splits the family but the women's bond remains untouched.

Mehta who has been a part of the theatre world for the last 23 years , says it gives her great pleasure to introduce Smriti to her world. " We share an unusual bond Smriti and me. We clicked right from day one and I have seen the girl bloom in front of my eyes. I remember when she joined Kyunki... she was a new comer but she was always keen to soak in and learn new things and improve herself. It gives me great pride to see her do so well for herself." she says.

Mehta on her part admits that while the last five years have brought her unimaginable fame, it is theatre where her heart and soul lie. "Every thing I get from television I put back in theatre. My association with Gujarati theatre dates back more than two decades and I've got all the love, fame and respect I desired from here, however after Kyunki... I became a recognisable face and could afford to convert my Gujarati productions into Hindi and take it to a wider national audience," she says. In fact, Kuch Tum Kaho, Kuch Hum Kahein is originally a Gujarati play Tareman Hu Mareman Tu which has been converted to Hindi by eminent scriptwriter Prakash Kapadia. "Paresh Rawal was the first to start converting good Gujarati plays into Hindi and it was a very smart business module. I jumped on to the bandwagon a couple of years back and got a great response. I hope there comes a day when theatre can work as an alternative to films and television," she says.

Performing stage shows round the year all over the world, Mehta says that a typical day in her life sees her shoot for her serials till five in the evening and then take a flight to perform plays in Gujarat. " For a long time I would shoot the entire day then take the evening flight to Ahmedabad for a play and then run back early morning. Now that my plays have started travelling across India it is during these performances that I mange to snatch a break. I work for 20 hours a day for 30 days a month," she says.

Even with an unbearably hectic schedule, Mehta has managed to balance the roles of wife, mother and daughter-in-law, along with her profession and this she feels is the done thing. "Women are innately strong. All the women who are a part of the Kyunki... cast, work round the clock, balance their homes and lead a content life and this I think comes from our strength. Even while I work 20 hours a day I manage to fix the menu for dinner and order vegetables from the green grocer. I think all of it is possible because of the targets I set for myself and then go about trying to achieve them."