DC: A patriotic love story

Shaleen Bhanot as a complex junkie

Q Your last serial ended more than a year ago. Was the long break intended?
Both actually. I am very choosy and also like to take at least a six-month break between two shows. Not that I was offered lots of shows, just a few offers.

Q What's interesting about Sajda Tere Pyaar Mein?
It is completely different from anything I have done on TV so far. In my last serial Do Hanson Ka Joda which was a family drama. I played a shy and reserved middle-class guy. But my look is different here. When I heard about the role I said yes to the show without even hearing the story.

Q How different is the look?
I have long hair, wear jewellery and look like a junkie. I worked on my look for two and half months.

Q It's a love story. So ,what's the major difference?
It's a love story for sure. But it's intriguing and not the normal boy-meets-girl kind of story. Apart from the girl loving boy, it's also about love for the country. It's a love triangle between boy, girl and the nation.

Q Is it inspired by Aamir Khan-Kajol starrer Fana or any other recent Hindi film?
No, it has nothing to do with Fana or any other film. It's completely different and original.

Q Are you playing a terrorist in disguise or a RAW agent?
He is neither. It's a very complex and multi-layered character. He has many names and there is lot of suspense about him.

Q How's life post-marriage?
It has changed for good in last two years. For eight years I had lived away from my family. I did everything for myself. But now there is a lady at home to do things for me.

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Debolina plays a happy, go lucky girl
She is not new to acting but is a newcomer to serials though. Debolina has done a Bengali film before and came to Mumbai two- and-a-half years ago. Surprisingly, though her debut film, Ami Aadu, where she played a Muslim girl married to a Hindu, won a national award, Debolina says that till date she has not been offered a single Bengali film. She came to Mumbai to work in Hindi films. "Regional films don't give you national recognition. Nobody knows you outside your state," she reasons.

However, her dream of working in Hindi films has not taken a back seat. "I have done one film which will be released sometime later. Since I came here for work, I was also open to serials because TV provides one with a lot of fame. But I didn't want to do those rona-dhona overdramatic serials," she adds. When she was approached for the lead role in Sajda Tere Pyaar Mein, Debolina says the character was quite tempting.

Elaborating she says, "Aaliya is a 21-year-old modern Muslim girl in the final year of college. She is careless, happy go lucky and not focused in life and career. She also doesn't believe in love. But a transformation comes over her when she meets Ranveer." What happens next? "Their tryst blossoms into love and soon she finds herself sacrificing everything in her life for Ranveer's sake, which leads to conflict between love and responsibility. She has to choose between her love and duty towards the nation. It's really different from what viewers are watching currently on TV," she promises.