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Neha Saxena after her role on ' Tere Liye' takes a break to catch up with friends and family..

They are single and loving it!

Candid chat with Geetanjali Tikekar

Geetanjali Tikekar is on a sabbatical after her last show Tere Liye on Star Plus ended.

"Currently I am busy taking care of my three and half year-old son Shaurya. Motherhood is a full time job." Going on she says, "How have imes changed since we were kids, he is already in junior KG and I never saw the face of school till I was four and a half years."

Geetanjali feels bad for the pressure the poor kid is being made to go through. "He is learning to write and I can't even scream at him when he makes mistakes as he is too small."

So do you think working in the TV industry has taught you patience? "This is one virtue what I have definitely picked up. Once I remember waiting for 17 hours before being told that there was no scene of mine for the day."

When do you plan to make a comeback on TV? "I will think of a return once Shaurya is a bit older and can take care of him." So what kind of roles would you be looking at then? "I am quite a realistic person. Since I know leads will not be offered to me anymore, I will be content with parallel characters which have something to add to the overall narrative."

Geetanjali Tikekar who is married to actor Sikandar Kharbanda is quite upset with concept of the leaps. "After just two years as lead in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, I was made to play a mother."

But here she adds a caveat, "Today things are worst, producers are taking young kids as a lead to save on money. Tell me, would anyone know who today's lead actors are? When I was doing Kasautii, people knew the person behind the character."

How are actors of your generation dealing with this change? "With most of my contemporaries feeling short changed, we have become dinosaurs sitting at home and spewing fire, wondering what has gone wrong with the TV industry."

She also rejects the popular perception that TV actors make good money. "We now rue the fact that we left our studies and turned to this craft. Had we done some professional courses, we would have earned much better," she ends.

Harshad Chopda, who essays the role of Raghav in Life OK and UTV Productions' Saubhagyavati Bhava, is happy with the way in which his role is shaping up.

"You know me, I am quite a straight forward guy in real life and to play a 'tapori' like Raghav was a challenge in itself. But that is the best part of being an actor; you get to play different characters which are so unlike you. Most of the shows which I have done in the past were of someone whose dreams were being fulfilled, but here I am playing someone who helps a girl Jhanvi/Sia to rise up from domestic abuse", says Harshad.

Harshad feels that along with luck, his choice of roles has played an important part in his success. "I know it is tough to decline a role, but it makes no sense in doing something in which you are not convinced."

Having said this, ask him if he has no problems when people say that the show belongs to Viraj i.e. Karanvir Bohra and he philosophically says, "I am happy with what my character is doing in the overall scheme of things. The biggest problem with TV is that what you get promised in the narration is just 20% of what finally shows on screen". So how much of it showed up inSaubhagyavati Bhava? "No comments, as there was no recording when we spoke. I am very serious about my work and often get into arguments with the creative team when I feel things are not going right. I can compromise on anything but not work", explains Harshad.

On working with Sriti Jha, Harshad maintains, "One of the main plus point with her is that she is among few lead girls who can actually act."

Harshad feels that he has grown as an actor over the years. "My awareness is much more. I feel that had I done Tere Liye (a game changer for him) now, I would have done a better job than before."

Lastly, on his relaxation schedule after long hours of shoot, the actor says, "I take full advantage of the breaks I get between shows. I catch up on sleep, meet friends and travel a lot. I am not a party animal. Even after working for 20 long hours, if I come across an interesting scene I get charged up and am raring to go."

Well said, Harshad!!