Small city girl, big dream:Vidya

By her own admission she is an adventurous girl. An NCC cadet and a gold medallist in rifle shooting Divyanka wanted to become an army officer. But she didn't pursue her dream when she got busy participating in talent contests like Sahara One's Mr. & Miss Bollywood and Zee's India's Best. While she won the Sahara's Mr. & Miss contest and did a tele-film for the channel called Saathi Re, she got eliminated in the second round of Zee's India's Best.

She tried her luck at the Miss Bhopal beauty contest and emerged a winner. She soon participated in Zee's Teen Queen contest where she won the Miss beautiful skin title. "It gave me a lot of confidence and I thought of doing serials," recalls Divyanka who debuts on television next week in Zee's Banoo Main Teri Doolhan.

Of course she had donned the grease paint and emoted before the camera before for Bhopal Doordarshan in a tele-film called Gulra Ke Baba which was based on well known literature Markandey's novel of the same name besides Sahara's Saathi Re. But those were one-off short films made on a much smaller scale and lacked the glamour and glitz of the mass entertainment daily soaps.

Though she was based in Bhopal she dreamed of working in regular television serials. Luckily her co-actor from one of her tele-films came to her aid. Through his model-coordinator he did the groundwork of reaching her pictures to the production house's office which was looking for a girl to play the main lead in Banoo Main Teri Doolhan. "I was called to Mumbai for an audition and to my surprise I was selected for the role," she smiles.

The show, according to Divyanka, is based in a small town and deals with a young girl's struggle to come up in life against all odds. "Like most small town girls, Vidya is a chirpy, confident and positive girl who strives to come out of her small town existence. Destiny helps her reach her goal. It's a beautiful story with lot of masala," laughs Divyanka who feels small town girls are more smarter and ambitious than big city girls.

"That's because when you have access to a lot of stuff your ambition takes a hit because things are taken for granted. On the other hand, small town girls dream big because they have limited access to opportunities." She is really excited about her role and big television debut.

"This is my first real big exposure and I hope I live up to everyone's expectations," she adds. But then like most small cities and town girls Divyanka is also not low on confidence. "In many ways I am like Vidya. I am a positive thinking girl and can face problems confidently. I love challenges," she asserts.

This is my first real exposure and I hope I live up to everyone's expectations. In many ways, I am like Vidya, a positive thinking girl and can face problems confidently. I love challenges - Divyanka, TV actress