TOI: you don't have to be katrina kaif- Roopal

Roopal Tyagi is on cloud nine right now. With her show Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke becoming the number one show on the TRP charts for week six and also completing 200 episodes — things couldn't have been better for this actress.

Ask her about the show and she says, "This show is very different from the other saas-bahu shows. When I was offered the show, I was a little scared to play Gunjan because she was not the typical ideal bahu that we normally see on TV. But I think the realism of the character has gone well with the viewers. She is modern yet not extremely glamorous girl."

Roopal shares that she did ads when she was five years old. Roopal came to Mumbai from Bangaluru to work as a choreographer initially and has been an assistant choreographer for a number of Bollywoodstars. "I was very young when I first came to Mumbai. I came from a well-to-do family and it was very tough for me to stay here alone. I used to sit and eat with other crew members of the film. The food served for the actors was different. It was difficult to adjust to these things, but I was determined to do something meaningful and that is why I didn't go back home," she says and adds, "There was an instance when I was really heart-broken and just wanted to go home. I had shot for two months for Fauji 2 with Shah Rukh Khan and then we were told that the show will not go on air. I was getting offers for Kannada movies, but I did not want to do them."

Like most of her counterparts, does she also plan to face the camera for the big screen? She smiles, "Not really. I have worked behind the camera and I know how draining it is. There is a lot of competition in films, which is also true for TV, but I think the competition here is just 1% less than in films. There is place for girls who have girl-next-door looks on TV — you don't have to beKatrina Kaif to get work in the TV industry. I am very happy doing TV. I don't think I'm mentally prepared for movies right now." But the hectic schedules on TV do take a toll. "I do not sleep for days and get very irritated at times. It also affects my health. But when I see the final product, I feel that it's all worth it," she says.

So, will she do a reality show? "I would love to do reality shows. My boyfriend (actor Akhlaque Khan) and I were approached for Nach Baliye 5. But we couldn't do it. Bigg Boss would also be interesting."

About her love life, she says, "I met Akhlaque four to five years back through a common friend. We gradually became friends. He is also spontaneous like me. But he is very mature. He knows how to make me happy. He is one person with whom I can just be myself."