Shakti anand.. read this article

Shakti Anand seems delighted about his "different" show 'Ek Ladki Anjani Si'. He says, "You have to convince people about changing times. It is not easy to sit at home and watch a show on artificial insemination or pregnancy of an unmarried girl. But this is contemporary reality. The show spreads awareness in an entertaining manner."

He continues, "I was stifled playing hard-hitting characters in 'Sara Akash' and 'Crime Patrol'. Here I am playing the sober Nikhil Samarth who is at the crossroads of his life. He is happily married. But he gradually falls in love with the woman who is the surrogate mother of his child."

He believes in concentrating well on what he is at hand, "Doing three Balaji shows simultaneously is not up my street. How can an actor portray three different characters in a day?"

Anand is keen to do films but is disappointed about his film 'Lagi Prem Lagan' remaining unreleased. He is keen to do films like 'Iqbal', and 'Jhankar Beats'. "Usually out of sheer desperation to be seen on the big screen, TV actors end up doing B or C grade films like 'Kamasutra' and 'Kama'," he says with a hint of humour.

Shakti is happy to be with "ek ladki jaani pechani si" - his wife and actor Sai Anand. He adds, "I am not ready for fatherhood yet. I want to explore the

myriad facets of marriage."

Take a peek at tele-actor Shakti Anand's culinary preferences

PUCCA DILLIWALLAH! Shakti Anand enjoying his lunch Photo: Anu Pushkarna 'When it comes to food, I am a pucca Dilliwallah,' tele-actor Shakti Anand announces at the start of the conversation. "I like chicken in any form... roasted chicken, butter chicken, anything. I have to have a chicken dish either in lunch or dinner every day. That way I am a true blue Punjabi, you know the chikkan tikkan type," laughs Shakti. Shakti, driven by the great Indian hope of shining in tinsel town, packed his bags some summers back for Mumbai and never returned. "Now that I am doing well on television, have got married to a Mumbaaiite (telly-actress Sai Deodhar), I can't think even in my dream to return. Though with Sai, I keep fighting why Delhi is better than Mumbai. She is all for Mumbai and calls me a typical Delhi type," relays Shakti. Having started his telly-innings in 1999 with Balaji Telefilms' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as Hemant, Shakti got on to doing many well-appreciated roles over these years as in Saara Akaash (where he met Sai Deodhar), Nach Baliye, Crime Patrol and more. He is at present seen on Sony TV's Monday to Thursday daily Ek Ladki Anjaani Si. "I play Nikhil in the serial. It is all about delicate human relationships. Nikhil doesn't like kids but by a medical error he becomes a father and then he begins to mellow down, though there are a lot of twists and turns in the process," he says. Though he began his career riding the saas-bahu wave on the box, Shakti today doesn't want to be seen doing one. "Honestly, I don't want to do those serials again. Ek Ladki... has a different side to the story and it is interesting," he comments. After having his feel of butter chicken and saag-paneer with a little bit of jeera rice and tandoori roti, Shakti is ready to try out a bit of salad too. As he munches the salad with a bit of lemon squeezed on it, he talks about the Old Delhi food trips. "I love doing that. Unfortunately, there is no time when you come to Delhi these days," you almost catch his sense of longing for the fare. In Delhi, he says, "I am game to eat at Nizam any day. Also, I like Nathu's chaat at Bengali Market." Reminiscing his early days in Delhi, he talks about "the Mandi House days" when after doing some play-acting he along with a friend used to walk down to Bengali Market for a chaat. "Those were poor days and we used to share a plate of chaat that cost Rs.12 those days," he adds. Having done his Bachelor in Pharmacy and then his MBA, Shakti kicked a corporate career for television. "We grew up with a lot of good shows on television and so I had looked forward to acting in tele-serials but now increasingly, you see one following the other in a TRP war. The creative people no more experiment on television. It is time they wake up," he feels. Meal over, he skips his dessert, and instead sips a salty lemonade. "So hot, you see," he reasons. You understand a Dilliwallah's obsession with lemonade so affectionately called limu paani (nimbu pani) by many.

SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY