~~Zaara Articles~~

How did television happen to you?
Frankly speaking, I never thought of being an actress. I wanted to be a journalist and was doing Mass Communications in Pune. But when I came to Mumbai for a project, I got fascinated with acting. Then I got myself enrolled in an acting institute and soon, I got an offer for F.I.R.
on Sab TV.

What are your current projects on television?
Presently I am doing Zaara – Pyaar Ki Saugaat on Sahara and F.I.R. on Sab TV.

Tell us something about your character in Zaara – Pyaar Ki Saugaat?
I am playing Shirin who is a very cute, good looking and bubbly girl and am loved by all. However, there are a of bit grey shades to my character. I am in love with the male protagonist since childhood and aspire to marry him. And soon, her dream is about to come true.

How do you relate yourself with the character?
Well, I do have some similarity with my character in Zaara. I am cute and good-looking but do not have any grey shades in my real life (laughs).

So what was the feeling when you faced the camera for the first time?
I was very nervous and did not know what to do. However, the team was quite supportive. Especially the producer and the director made me feel at ease.

What are your future plans?
I have not decided any thing yet. But I would love to do any thing that is interesting and excites me. I would love to do what ever that comes my way. Whether it is a good film, video album or an ad.

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MALINI KAPOOR
Actress

My sister Shalini has been around in television for many years so I finally got my portfolio done and passed it around. When offers started coming my way I could hardly refuse! So here I am.

Tell us about your character in the serial, Zaara.
I was given a choice of character to play. I chose Zeenat, Zaara's sister, mainly because she is a well-rounded and complex character, giving me the opportunity to play different shades. She is a wife, a sister, a daughter and a daughter-in-law and a mother-to-be. I got the chance to play these different moods.

Do you relate to the character in the serial?
At times. I am very close to my sister so it is not difficult playing my scenes with my on-screen sister. As for my scenes with my on-screen husband, love is not far from anybody's mind!

What about the times when you cannot relate to a particular aspect?
The reason I said 'at times' is because my character might become negative, and I cannot relate to the way negative characters are portrayed on television. Hats off to those who do carry these roles off, but I believe negativity lies in a person's eyes and body language and thoughts, not in her eye make-up or sari!

Is Bollywood on your mind?
I have been a child artiste for Bengali films. I have already acted in two Hindi films, Subaah Tak and Golden Voice, neither of which have been released yet. Television and films cannot be compared. With television you have the luxury of playing different people at the same time, but with films you can interpret your character yourself and quality is never compromised.

What are your other TV projects?
I was initially too busy to take on other projects but now that I have time on my hands I am definitely looking for more work!

https://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=xtras&am p;am p;subsection=showbuzz&xfile=February2007_closeup_standar d138&child=closeup

After doing ad films, one Hindi comic caper and five Tamil films, lead actor of Zaara - Pyar Ki Saugat (Sahara One), Samiksha is currently making waves on television. In this Sanjay Kohli show, she plays a 21-year-old beautiful, sweet- natured and well-mannered girl, belonging to an upper middle class Muslim family.

Here's a chat with this beautiful Chandigarh di kudi who prefers to maintain a low profile!

How did the pivotal role of Zaara fall in your lap?
In the past, I had been approached for many TV shows like Kasamh Se and Dulhan on Zee. But I got scared reading Ekta Kapoor's contract which would have bound me for three years. I preferred to wait for the right project and that's when the producers of Zaara approached me. To begin with, I completely fell for the title of the show and when I went through the script, I found it perfect enough to say 'yes'. For a newcomer on television Zaara is the best launch pad.

Tell us one special thing about your role?
It gives me ample scope to portray various emotions.

How's the atmosphere on the sets?
It's very healthy. I am getting used to the hectic schedules.

Don't you feel there's a lot of tear shedding on TV?
Yes there is. When I have to do so, once in a while I do cry naturally but otherwise I use glycerine.

You have done films before. How different is it working for television?
In films, emotional scenes are limited to 10% but on TV 90% of the scenes are melodramatic Serials are slotted in a particular format while in films there is fine balance of emotions. Also in art films you get very realistic roles to play.

Are you still getting film offers from south and Bollywood?
I have signed a Hindi movie but can't talk about it right now, as I have just shot for a schedule and the film has got stuck! Talking about offers from south, yes I'm being approached.

Which city do you prefer, Chandigarh or Mumbai?
Chandigarh is the cleanest city and Mumbai is the dirtiest one (laughs)

What about your personal life?
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