Kyunki... to Saat Phere

INTERVIEW | Apara Mehta

Kyunki... to Saat Phere

A. L. Chougule
Posted online: Friday, May 26, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

A veteran of more than 40 Gujarati plays and several Gujarati serials, Apara Mehta's career of 25 years is full of rich and varied roles. A veteran of more than 40 Gujarati plays and several Gujarati serials, Apara Mehta's career of 25 years is full of rich and varied roles. Though she did Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka before Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Apara's career on TV zoomed with the latter. Her exit from the larger-than life soap has been a cause of many a raised eyebrow. Here the actress talks about her exit from Kyunki... and her entry in Saat Phere After doing Kyunki... for nearly six years on STAR Plus you have moved over to Saat Phere on Zee. Was the transition smooth?
Pretty smooth. I didn't get any offers till I was doing Kyuni.... But once my death happened in the show there were several offers for films and serials. The only role that sounded interesting was Saat Phere. I decided on doing it because it a powerful character. It will make a lot of impact.

It's a negative character whereas Savita was positive. Isn't it going to be sudden change of image?
Savita was not totally positive. There were shades of negative in her. Savita was always the cause of conflict between Mihir and Tulsi. My character in Saat Phere is very interesting. It's a negative character that wields power and always wants to have her way in everything. She dislikes Saloni and has had problems with her from day one. Though she is against Saloni currently, I think as the serial progresses she will be on Saloni's side and will be her major support.

Is the role better than you played in Kyunki...?
Kyunki... was a larger-than-life show. This one is real. I don't think I will ever be able to emulate the success of Kyunki.... It was a big show. In six years it gave me all that I had not achieved in 25 years though I was not craving for it either. But it changed my life in every way. Such shows and roles happen once in a while.

Aren't you missing Kyunki...? How did your exit happen?
Of course I miss it because my association with the show lasted for six years. But I have moved on and looking for Saat Phere for my journey ahead. There are reports that Smriti Irani with whom you don't seem to have good relations now was behind your exit. Is it true?
There is no truth in the rumours, speculation or reports that Smriti influenced or played a part in my exit from Kyunki.... I think it was the demand of the story. It has to move and a major trigger was needed for the story to move ahead. My death will become the cause of a major confrontation between Tulsi and Mihir. Tulsi will eventually leave Shantiniketan. People are speculating because Savita's exit was totally unexpected. Apparently Smriti and you started drifting apart with Smriti's decision to do Gujarati theatre where you have a firm footing.
No, that's not true. I have been doing theatre for the last 25 years and I have seen many actors coming and going. Theatre is nobody's monopoly. Neither is fame and popularity. It is open to all. Why should I grudge someone's desire to act on Gujarati stage? But it was you who was behind Smriti's debut in theatre. You also featured in Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahenin, which was Smriti's debut play.
No one can make another person do one thing and not the other. Hindi theatre in Mumbai is nowhere near Marathi and Gujarati theatre. Hindi theatre actors can't survive doing theatre alone. Which is why it needs lot of support to flourish like Marathi and Gujarati theatre. I wanted Smriti to do Hindi theatre because it needs help and support of popular actors to bring it to the level of professional Marathi and Gujarati theatre. I thought Smiriti with all her popularity on television would bring in crowds to watch Hindi plays. That's how it all started and we did the play together. But after doing a few shows of Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein Smiriti moved on to Gujarati theatre. It was her wish. But now you have opted out of the Hindi play.
Yes, because I am quite occupied with my Gujarati plays. Even while doing Kyunki... I kept my commitment to my plays. Since things were getting hectic I decided to opt out of Kuch Hum Kahein Kuch Tum Kahein. You did Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka before Kyunki... came on air. But nobody talks about the show. Is it because television was not as big as it is today in terms of budget, making, glamour and gloss?
What a show it was and a fine example of good writing. It was the first social drama and it was absolutely brilliant. It was popular too. But in those days there wasn't so much media hype, promotion and marketing. Television was not larger-than-life like it is now. But it had lot of substance against the gloss and glamour of today's soap. I have been part of TV since 1985. I started with Gujarati serials for Ahmedabad Doordarshan. Those days television had strong content. It is not possible to do that kind of work on TV today. But then one has to move with the times. Today TV is big business. Creativity and art is secondary. Your life has changed forever because of one show. Did you ever imagine that things would be this better?
Never. But then through 25 years of my career I never planned anything. I worked on my instinct and intuition and never planned to make and break images. But just one show changing things beyond expectations and imagination and to be known internationally is something I never imagined.

Do you think a change will come on TV where content will occupy the prime position?
Nothing is permanent. Change is a constant. If things don't change life will stagnate. Everything moves from good to better and from better to average or bad. It's a cycle that can't be stopped.

thanks for the article yaar