‘I was inspired by Vivah’

A red saree and sindoor is the last thing you'd expect Sara Khan, all of 18, to wear.

But that's what she wore in Delhi when she turned up, in character, to talk about her show on TV. "I was too inspired by Amrita (Rao)'s character in Vivah to say no to the show," says Sara, aka Sadhna of Sapna Babul Ka... Bidaai. Sara had just cleared her higher secondary exams when she was offered a role in the show.

"My family wasn't angry with me, because I did want to take up acting, but my parents kept telling me to finish graduation and then think of stepping into the world of showbiz. But I knew what I wanted," she says.

Still in her teens and playing a schizophrenic's wife, Sara is completely at ease with the way her role has taken a turn.

She says, "Earlier, I was playing the role of a loving sister and daughter, but this twist will ensure a meatier role for me. Sadhna has to take care that she does not in any way provoke the wild side of her husband, who otherwise is very loving."

Isn't she being compared to Sandhya Mridul, who had once played a similar character in Koshish... Ek Asha? "I would consider myself lucky if such comparisons are made, but I would like to clarify that she is my senior and I am struggling right now to find a foothold in the industry. I look up to her for the way she played her role in Koshish..."

Playing a dutiful daughter makes her miss her family all the more. "It's been six months since I met my family, but all the crew members are like family now. We go out together whenever we have a little time. But there's no time that I can call my own, since we shoot for long hours," she adds.

Having won the title of Miss Bhopal 2007, Sara had earlier hosted a couple of shows for Doordarshan in Bhopal and done more than 40 commercials. Thanks to her stint with the mainstream TV show, she is getting more offers for shows and films now. "But it is too early for me to reveal the details. I will think of films only if I get good offers. Till then, Bidaai... has all my focus and time," she signs off.