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Prableen Sandhu: I didn't want to be mom

Prableen Sandhu, who was last seen in Mohe Rang De, returns to television with the character Vidya Verma in Aap Ki Antara. The actress, who makes her entry on the show today (June 2), talks about why she initially refused the offer, how her polar opposite character will be a challenge for her to play and all the research that has gone into making sure the show, which revolves around an autistic girl, is portrayed accurately.


Prableen tells us about the role, which she initially refused. She says, "Immediately after I finished shooting for Mohe Rang De, I went to Punjab. When I came back, I did a few auditions. Antara was the first show that was offered to me, though I refused it as I did not want to play a mother's role."

Then, with much coaxing from the channel, Sandhu was convinced. She says, "The channel called me but I told them that even though the character is the mother of a four-year-old kid, I did not want to do it. So I auditioned for more shows but again these people called me! They told me to listen to the concept before taking a call. When I heard it, I liked it a lot. It was something different from what I did in Mohe Rang De. It is giving me the chance to show my versatility. I cannot do saas-bahu shows."

Prableen plays Vidya Verma, the mother of four-year-old Antara. She adds, "Though my character is rich, she is also very simple and decides to marry a middleclass banker. She likes him because he too is simple. Vidya is completely feminine; she is strong yet kind."

The actress admits that the character she is playing is very unlike her. She says, "She is very patient and that is something very contradictory to my personality. I am a very impatient girl. For the character of Kranti in Mohe Rang De, I did not have to work hard. Kranti was exactly like me. But here, Vidya is the opposite of me! She is almost like my mother and I keep asking my mother and sister how they manage to be so patient."

Since Aap Ki Antara revolves around an autistic child, the whole cast visited a school for special children to gain more understanding on the subject. Prableen says, "We talked to the kids and their parents, saw clips on the topic and observed how their parents react to the children. When you are handling such a different subject, you need to do research. Otherwise, you'll end up showing the wrong image which is something we did not want to do."

Elaborating on the research that she did, the actress adds, "I met with kids who have problems communicating but they are geniuses in other fields. One of them had brilliant knowledge of the market, another was a wonderful singer, one spoken slowly but was a great skater, one child knew 7 languages and someone else read 10 newspapers everyday. These people are always in their own world and it was very interesting to be exposed to it."

On the serial, the character Antara is shown as a genius in calculation. Talking about child star Zaina Vastani, Prableen says, "She is the cutest child I have ever met. She's beautiful with good features and great hair. I have shot only one scene with her and she is very obedient. When the director tells her that her shot is over, she immediately moves away. Her mother is also sweet; both of them never trouble anyone."

The actress is pleased with the show. In fact, she was so impressed that she watched the first episode twice. "I liked it a lot; I saw the repeat also. Everyone has been calling me and telling me that they liked the direction and subject is very good. We're getting a good response for it. Now let's see what happens," she signs off.

Aap Ki Antara premiered on June 1. The show will air Monday to Thursday at 8.30pm on Zee TV.

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/June/News_20090603_13

Zaina Vastani aka Antara gets rave reviews

Cute little Zaina Vastani, who plays Antara on Aap Ki Antara, is winning viewers' hearts with her convincing performance. We spoke to the 5-year-old's mother about her rise to stardom.

Zaina did not have to give auditions for this show but got the offer through her mother's friend. Zaina's mother says, "A friend from the TV industry told me about the show. We sent in a few pictures of Zaina and she was selected. She has never starred in a show before but she did appear in two ads, one for Sunsilk and the other, which is airing now, for Pepsodent."

The young actress' talent has been apparent to her mother for a while now. Her mother says, "She would dance and try to imitate dialogues on TV whenever she watched anything."

Zaina has a twin sister Ziah and an elder sister Simin. Her mother adds, "They are non-identical twins." The family stays at Mumbai Central and has to travel for an hour to reach the sets at Goregaon. She says, "As vacations are on now, there is no problem regarding the shooting. Zaina is in Higher K.G. and next year, she goes to Standard 1. When her school starts, I will make it a point that she shoots only after school hours. She has school in the morning so she'll be able to shoot in the evenings."

Explaining the little star's schedule, her mother says, "Her sisters accompany her on the sets so she plays with them. They call us one hour before the shoot so we don't have to wait too much. In between shots, we go to the mall and hang out there. So it is not stressful for her. At home, my mother takes care of my daughters if I am here on the sets with Zaina. Sometimes, her father too, who is a businessman, goes to the sets with her. She watches cartoons or movies there and everyone pampers her. Her director makes her sit on his lap and explains scenes, but she doesn't have any dialogue on the show, so it is not very difficult."

Zaina's mother couldn't be prouder of her little girl, saying, "I've been getting calls from everyone telling me how good she is on the show. Her posters are up everywhere in the city. My sister, who is teacher, helped us to learn more about autism. I feel that I have made the right decision to accept this offer for her."

Zaina will be seen on Aap Ki Antara for only 3 months, after which a new actress will be selected to play a more grown up version of Antara.

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/June/News_20090604_17

Zaina's sis working with Darsheel Safary in Bum Bum Bole

Zaina Vastani who is stealing audience hearts with her character of Antara from Aap Ki Antara has a twin sister who is debuting on silver screen with Taare Zameen Par kid Darsheel Safary.

Ziah is five years old.Her mother says: "We came to know about these auditions. The name of the movie is Bum Bum Bole. She is playing Darheel's sister in the movie. Priyadarshan sir is producing this movie .It was a great experience to work with him. We have completed almost the entire shooting for the movie. Only one song sequence is pending .However Priyan sir is not here in India I believe, so once he is back we will have the last shoot."

Her mother further explains: "I know that since they are twins, Ziah would feel neglected a bit. Now both of them are happy."

These five year old twin sisters have an elder sister too who is 12 year old Simin, who is not interested in acting as of now. Bum Bum Bole is directed by Priyardarashan and it is said to be based on Iranian film Children of Heaven directed by the very talented Majid Majidi.The story is set against militancy in Assam. Others in the star cast include Atul Kulkarni, Kaveri Jha and Rituparna Sengupta.




http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/June/News_20090609_33

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The production house of Zee's Aap Ki Antara is in a fix, as they have to get now one but two sets of accessories to please the little twins Zaina and Zia...

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Aapki Antara wishes to be a piano teacher