Dance has all forms of acting expressions

She is a classical Kathak dancer for the last 16 years. Trained under Pandit Birju Maharaj, she is part of her guru's performing troupe and has done several shows all over India. "I have enjoyed performing in front of a live audience. Dance is my first love and priority. It is a form of expressing oneself and it has all the elements and expressions of acting," says Parakh who was always been inclined towards acting.

But the girl who hails from Ranchi and moved to Delhi for her graduation didn't get an opportunity to act in serials or films. "I wanted to act but except theatre there is no other opportunity in Delhi," she avers. An opportunity came her way when she participated in a woman's magazine cover contest and made a trip to Mumbai for the magazine's cover shoot. It brought a major change in her life.

"It was my first exposure to glamour and also to Mumbai, the happening city and the showbiz capital of India," smiles Parakh who started getting calls for auditions for serials and films. The first role she landed was in Jai Santoshi Maa, a remake of the box-office blockbuster film of the mid-70s where she plays a city girl. "Though it's a remake of the old hit the film is set in today's times. That's why I am there in it," says the young actress who plays a city girl in the film. "The character I am playing is very much like me, a modern city girl who also believes in values and traditions and has a mind of her own."

But she is quite unlike Suman, the character she plays in her debut serial Saathi Re that is slated for telecast in October. "Suman is a reserved, polite and humble Gujarati girl who has a very strict father," says Parakh who as the youngest sibling in her family is a totally spoilt brat. "I am a naughty, restless and pampered girl. I prefer wearing jeans, skirts and T-shirts while Suman is always in salwar-kameez."

The contrast apart Suman is a girl whose kundali has choti nagin dosh that's the cause of her recurring nightmares that leave her distraught every time and bring her bad luck. "Suman is a docile girl who abides by her father's wishes. She falls in love with Prem (Arjun Punjj) whom her parents disapprove of and she gets married to Rajeev (Amir Dalvi).

Thanks to her problematic kundali her nightmares and problems continue. And so also the love triangle that leads to a lot of complications in her life and marriage. "It's a very good role," gushes Parakh who is also eagerly waiting for the release of her debut film September 29. "Currently I am completely focused on Saathi Re. Being a fresher all my co-actors are helping me," she adds. Now that she is into the thick of things, she is open to both serials and films.

"One thing I will never do is repeat myself in any role," says Parakh who had to go through a series of auditions for her debut serial. "Getting break in a lead role is not easy. It takes months and a series of tests and auditions before the channel, which has the final say in the matter, gives its approval," she says quite happy with the fact that she succeeded in landing the lead role in her maiden television show.

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