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Suhana the Tellyland's new age bahu
She is temperamental, inconsiderate and in her own words, "a complete misfit" in the family she married into. But Suhana, the youngest bahu in the serial Sasural Genda Phool on Star Plus, couldn't care less. Her in-laws also seem to accept her the way she is. Suhana's bhabhis aren't scheming. Her mother-in-law is not a shrew. There are no kitchen politics at play in the household. And the men of the family are more than props. Who's that girl?
It's a welcome change. Because for once, there's a bahu who is a real person. Inconsiderate but not insensitive. Self-centered but not selfish. "She is a regular modern girl," says Ragini Khanna, the actress who plays Suhana. "And thankfully, she is married into a
ily which though traditional, isn't the conniving, bride-beating sort. It's a happy family, unlike others on TV. There are tiffs and misunderstandings but no one has a 'killer' instinct."
Surprisingly, this 'different' bahu has become quite a favourite with the audience. "I have never got negative feedback about Suhana," says Ragini. "Even older people who you think will not appreciate Suhana's attitude have stopped me and said, 'Tu smile bahut achcha karti hai'. They pat me on my head and leave. It's really funny."
It's funny not because it's a joke, but because conventional wisdom has it that a TV bahu must be a sort of weeping machine. But, as Ragini says, "I don't think audiences have a problem with bindaas bahus. It's the serial makers who have a problem. Most people just want good stories and entertainment. And they're tired of all the rona-dhona you see in conventional soaps."
But the actress and the character she plays are not alike at all. Though both have a sense of fun, Ragini believes that Suhana is far more immature than she is. "Even I get irritated by her attitude at times," she laughs.
Plus, it hasn't been easy for the actress to get into Suhana mode. Ragini's last role on TV was in the serial Bhaskar Bharti, where she played Bhaskar, a man who turns into a woman, Bharti.
Having played a man for ages, shifting character to an immature young woman was not easy for Ragini to pull off.
"For nearly 10 months, I was walking, talking and behaving like a man," she says. "I almost forgot myself; forgot how to be a girl. So it was tough. Besides, the sudden closure of Bhaskar Bharti left me devastated."
So she refused nearly 30 serial offers till she met Ravi Ojha, director of Sasural…, and heard the script. "When I heard the story, it just clicked," she smiles.
Is there any chance that Sasural Genda Phool will take a more melodramatic turn, reducing the now happy family into a bunch of TV cut-outs?
"If such a thing happens, I think the serial will flop," says Ragini. "I've experienced that with Bhaskar Bharti. The minute we changed it to the typical soap, the TRPs dropped. I think the audience hates unnatural changes."
Screen play
Ragini is actor Govinda's niece, but though she was always interested in the performing arts and trained in classical singing and dance, acting wasn't what she wanted to do.
"All my cousins would go to Chi Chi mama (Govinda) for advice, but I never did," she says. "I was never interested in acting. Bollywood dancing is the maximum I would agree to learn."
But the offer for her first serial, Radha Ki Betiyaan, where she played the second daughter, just fell into her lap. Then there was Bhaskar Bharti and now there's Sasural. Life, she says, has been completely unplanned but it's been great.
Ragini has also just finished shooting for a Rakeysh Mehra film called Mad Madder Maddest, and says as long as the going's good, she'll have fun. "The day I stop getting work, I'll happily get married," she laughs.
Unlike Suhana of Sasural Genda Phool, who is a frivolous young woman,
She is temperamental, inconsiderate and in her own words, "a complete misfit" in the family she married into. But Suhana, the youngest bahu in the serial Sasural Genda Phool on Star Plus, couldn't care less. Her in-laws also seem to accept her the way she is. Suhana's bhabhis aren't scheming. Her mother-in-law is not a shrew. There are no kitchen politics at play in the household. And the men of the family are more than props. Who's that girl?
It's a welcome change. Because for once, there's a bahu who is a real person. Inconsiderate but not insensitive. Self-centered but not selfish. "She is a regular modern girl," says Ragini Khanna, the actress who plays Suhana. "And thankfully, she is married into a
ily which though traditional, isn't the conniving, bride-beating sort. It's a happy family, unlike others on TV. There are tiffs and misunderstandings but no one has a 'killer' instinct."
Surprisingly, this 'different' bahu has become quite a favourite with the audience. "I have never got negative feedback about Suhana," says Ragini. "Even older people who you think will not appreciate Suhana's attitude have stopped me and said, 'Tu smile bahut achcha karti hai'. They pat me on my head and leave. It's really funny."
It's funny not because it's a joke, but because conventional wisdom has it that a TV bahu must be a sort of weeping machine. But, as Ragini says, "I don't think audiences have a problem with bindaas bahus. It's the serial makers who have a problem. Most people just want good stories and entertainment. And they're tired of all the rona-dhona you see in conventional soaps."
But the actress and the character she plays are not alike at all. Though both have a sense of fun, Ragini believes that Suhana is far more immature than she is. "Even I get irritated by her attitude at times," she laughs.
Plus, it hasn't been easy for the actress to get into Suhana mode. Ragini's last role on TV was in the serial Bhaskar Bharti, where she played Bhaskar, a man who turns into a woman, Bharti.
Having played a man for ages, shifting character to an immature young woman was not easy for Ragini to pull off.
"For nearly 10 months, I was walking, talking and behaving like a man," she says. "I almost forgot myself; forgot how to be a girl. So it was tough. Besides, the sudden closure of Bhaskar Bharti left me devastated."
So she refused nearly 30 serial offers till she met Ravi Ojha, director of Sasural…, and heard the script. "When I heard the story, it just clicked," she smiles.
Is there any chance that Sasural Genda Phool will take a more melodramatic turn, reducing the now happy family into a bunch of TV cut-outs?
"If such a thing happens, I think the serial will flop," says Ragini. "I've experienced that with Bhaskar Bharti. The minute we changed it to the typical soap, the TRPs dropped. I think the audience hates unnatural changes."
Screen play
Ragini is actor Govinda's niece, but though she was always interested in the performing arts and trained in classical singing and dance, acting wasn't what she wanted to do.
"All my cousins would go to Chi Chi mama (Govinda) for advice, but I never did," she says. "I was never interested in acting. Bollywood dancing is the maximum I would agree to learn."
But the offer for her first serial, Radha Ki Betiyaan, where she played the second daughter, just fell into her lap. Then there was Bhaskar Bharti and now there's Sasural. Life, she says, has been completely unplanned but it's been great.
Ragini has also just finished shooting for a Rakeysh Mehra film called Mad Madder Maddest, and says as long as the going's good, she'll have fun. "The day I stop getting work, I'll happily get married," she laughs.
Unlike Suhana of Sasural Genda Phool, who is a frivolous young woman,
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