Interview of Akangsha Rawat

A kangsha Rawat, the pro- tagonist of Sahara One's daily soap Solhah Singaar, detests saas-bahu soaps. But she acts in one. She explains, "I can't relate to saas-bahu soaps. But I do them because I know the audience loves to see me on screen. Also, now I am obsessed with acting," she adds as an afterthought. Still too young She reveals that her family mem- bers can't relate to her screen image. "My father never watches my show. Once he saw my on-screen mother-in-law torturing me. And then I retaliate. Seeing this, he got really excited and cried out 'beta aur maar, aur maar'. You must realise that I am all of 25 and still treated as a kid in home," laughs Rawat, who plays a widow considering remarriage. Model-turned-TV actress, Rawat says, "Acting happened by chance after I shifted base from Delhi to Mumbai for studies." She was doing one of the ads for Sahara when cre- ative head Kalyan Sundaram spotted her. That's when she considered doing TV soaps. No filmi desires Before that she was doing TV com- mercials. And the commercial she cherishes the most is the Dabur Chawanprash ad with Amitabh Bachchan. "I don't think I would give up modelling entirely," says Rawat. Now, shooting 14 hours a day for the daily soap has become a part of her lifestyle. But unlike her con- temporaries, she isn't too inclined to use television as a stepping- stone to the film industry. "I've never thought of Hindi films seriously.. may be I will accept a film project if a good offer comes along," she says hopefully. The actress also plans to explore direction.. either for television, documentary films or advertising. "God willing, I will have my way," she signs off.