Nivedita Bhattacharya says that a garish look is not a must to play a negative character
She exudes class with her striking personality, graceful demeanour and has a dress sense to kill for. No wonder, her styling is being discussed avidly by the women audience of Saat Phere.
Actor Nivedita Bhattacharya who plays Urvashi or Jiji felt, "Generally, the trend is that the negative characters in television shows go overboard with their styling. But I don't believe that a person has to dress up garishly to portray negativity. It's the actions and not the persona that should reflect his evil thoughts. If I was playing a witch, I would dress up likewise. But negative people are everyday believable people too — I dress likewise and go subtle with my clothes, make-up and accessories. I also kept in mind her characterization as this uppity US returned lady who has her nose in the air."
But who helps her in deciding her attire? "It is done in consultation with my designers and the channel. I feel a person's individuality comes across with her dress sense. I take active interest in choosing my styling. Many a times, I wear my own stuff."
About her character Jiji, she said, "No one is completely black. The grey characters too have a reason, however justified or not they may sound. Likewise Jiji feels wronged by the man she loves-Brijesh (played by Akshay Anand) and used as a surrogate mother. So she is out to avenge the wrongdoing. Now everybody can't be as good as Saloni. So I categorically see to it that there's a market difference between Saloni and Urvashi to bring out the contrasts."
How does she feel about making a come-back in the show, "Oh, I was looking forward to coming back because it's a great team to work with. I didn't feel I was away at all because the bonding is awesome. Even while I was away, we partied together and were in touch," she reacted.
Apart from Saat Phere, Nivedita is not too keen on taking up another daily soap, "It takes time. And I have my theatre rehearsals as well as travelling for the plays which takes up a lot of time. So it's not possible to take on too much work. There are a couple of new shows in the offing and I am considering what best suits me." Presently, she is occupied with two shows — Antigone and Makrand Deshpande's Karodein Mein Ek. Besides her acting, what keeps her busy is her dancing. "I am learning salsa which is an area of interest. Apart from that, I love to paint and am a voracious reader. And of course, I visit the gym regularly since it's very important for actors to look fit and fine these days," she added.
Nivedita is married to actor Kay Kay Menon who she describes as "extremely private".
Anupamaa
CID
