The girl who replaced Jassi-ananya from e

Kanchi, with her delicate, cute looks is a far cry from Jassi of the ugly-duckling-turned-pretty-girl fame. Though her serial 'Ek Ladki Anjani Si' has replaced 'Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin' on Sony, she doesn't think it's such a big deal. The girl who has acted in hit films down south has done a Hindi film as well called 'Woh Tera Naam Tha'. She talks to Rachna Kanwar about her small screen debut.

Q. You have been doing Telugu films and have done a Hindi film as well. How did you choose 'Ek Ladki Anjaani Si' as your debut vehicle on TV?
I have been getting offers for the central character in serials for the past one year from good production houses. But I was quite busy and secondly it just didn't excite me; the usual saas bahu kind of roles. When this came across I thought it would again be the same thing and initially I said no, but after a few months they called me back and said listen to the script and see the original series. It's amazing; the whole thing is based on me and my life. It is on Sony which is an awesome channel and it's the 9.30 slot.

Q. How does it feel to fill up Jassi's slot?
I don't know, I have never watched these TV serials. So I don't really know. I was told you'll be replacing the 'Jassi...' slot and I said ok. It wasn't something that big but I knew that a 9.30 slot is definitely primetime and if Sony was putting us there I knew that the show has a lot of potential.
Q. Tell us about your role.
I play an 18 year old girl. My name is Ananya Sachdev. I am called Anu by my friends and family. I am totally chilled out, I ride a bike, and I play basketball. I am full of spunk and at the same time very well blended with the Indian family traditions and culture. I am very ambitious and my family has struggled a lot. At 18 I have a scholarship and I am a bright student. I want to go abroad, do really well and keep my family happy.

Q. The serial is based on a Venezuelan show...
Initially we did watch the first episode to give us a feel of the show as it has a lot of characters. Then I found it so interesting that I watched some more. To prepare for the role I had to learn how to ride a bike as the character does it. I had to ride a bike and look cool and confident doing it. Other than that it's very me.

Q. A series of shows have started lately that have a similar fell with a central character etched out as a bubbly, intelligent, middle class girl. How is your character different from the rest?
I have heard about them but frankly I don't know what they are. I don't get time to see my own show. My show is definitely different. Its crazy different...its good different...

Q. Most TV actors aspire to be on the big screen and you have done the opposite, come from films to the small screen, why?
I don't think there is such a barrier left between TV and films any more. As far as I know even Jassi is doing a film with Abhishek Bachchan. Whether you are going one way or the other it doesn't matter any more. For me it's what role I get and it should be something that gives me a lot of importance, lets me perform and finally comes out good. 90% time in my career it has worked and probably a few it hasn't. So I make sure I choose the right work. For me its acting, be in ads. or films or TV. Even now I'll do ads and films if something good came up.

Q. As an actress what kind of roles do you look for?
I can never play a negative character. I have never actually played one but I don't know whether I'll be good at it or not. I get these nice and sweet girl roles but they are all different from each other. Take for instance this character that I am playing, the kind of things she is going through I have never played before.

Q. For the last few years you were down south doing Telugu films, how did you adjust there?
There its just work. It's very organized, you get your shot breakdown and there are no production hassles. Its like a machine, it goes on and on and on. But there's no fun, in the sense that they just work and here even if you are on a set you become so friendly and we call each other when we are not shooting. There all this doesn't happen. With me it could be because of the language barrier but when it comes to women they don't even look at you when they speak to you. They look down and talk. But other than that they are very sweet, they are very simple and it's very clean. Its very prim and proper.

Q. How did Telugu films happen to you?
It just happened. They saw an ad of mine and came to Bombay and met me for my first film 3-4 years ago. I said ok.

Q. You didn't have reservations about the language being a barrier...
My first film there was a torture. Very bad. Learning, lip-synching those lines, I would just go mad. After that it was ok, I was there for two years as my first film did very well and I did five more films. My staff knew Hindi and Telugu. I can understand a lot of Telugu now.