| ||
| By A.L. Chougule | ||
| It's been nine months of tough schedules for Priyanka Bassi, Naina of Left Right Left. Her tryst with the show that's based in an army academy started in June last year when the six protagonists of the show who play aspiring army cadets were taken for a brief training in an army academy in Maharashtra's Raigad district. The shooting started a week later and since then Priyanka and her co-actors have been roughing it out shooting nine scenes a day, 25 days a month. But with cricket making its way on SAB's prime time and Left Right Left (LRL) going for a seasonal break five days before the cricket World Cup kicks off in West Indies on March 13, Priyanka is happy with the much-needed break. She is looking at doing some exciting things. "It's a huge relief and refreshing change," says the soft-spoken actress who plays a hot-headed character in the show who is always at loggerheads with her seniors. "My parents are coming from Delhi to stay with me for a month. I am going to learn swimming and dance, will watch lot of cricket and do an experimental play with my ex-colleagues from Imago (Barry John's theatre group)." The play, The Tape, an adaptation of an English film will be done at an experimental theatre in Mumbai and Priyanka is quite eager to work on stage after a two-year break from theatre. Priyanka grew up dreaming about acting. "It was my childhood dream," she says. In school and college she was active on stage and post-college she did her diploma in acting from John's theatre group Imago and was active with the group's in-house plays. A chance call from a television production house brought her to Mumbai. The show didn't happen but Priyanka got busy with a few modelling assignments for Santoor and Shopper's Stop. Six months later she found herself doing her first serial for Zee Caf called Bombay Talking. "It was an English serial that dealt with the life of a small town girl who comes to Mumbai and has people talking about her with her achievements," says Priyanka who enjoyed doing the tri-weekly 53 episode show. "It was made like a film. We used to shoot three scenes in a day unlike eight to nine that I do for LRL. Not that I am complaining but it was a different experience." Life has been hectic for the past nine months but Priyanka says she has had great time doing LRL. "There will be a major change in Naina's behaviour after the show comes back on air in April," says Priyanka. Ask her why Naina was always protected by Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat (Rajeev Khandelwal) and she says it's because he was her brother Naveen's best friend. And ask her whether the rumours of her alleged affair with Rajeev are true and she laughs, "I don't know who started these rumours. I have never dated Rajeev." Who has she been dating then? Is it Vikas Manektala, who plays Hooda in LRL? "Not even Vikas, though he is a good friend. In fact, I get along well with the entire LRL gang," says Priyanka who likes visiting art galleries, going to book shops and watching play rehearsals. "I have a serious bend of mind and like reading books, watching movies and plays and art exhibitions." |
Current Affairs
