| Bhavana Balsaver on Paani Puri and Rubi…
by Vidhya Krishnan
Aug 28, 2008, Bangalore |
An actress tagged with being great with comedy, Bhavana Balsaver has etched a place for herself as a convincing actress. An artist who always loves challenges talks to Vidhya Krishnan about her roles in her latest shows Pani puri and Rubi which are beginning this week…
My roles in Paani puri and Rubi…
They are opposite characters. In Ruby I play a serious character wherein I play a governess, a protagonist, to a girl who is defective in her leg and is insecure and who does not have her mother. I am like a mother to her and protects her. When Rubi enters her life and gets friendly, I become over-protective because I perceive Rubi as a threat to the little girl that I take care of. Everything is realistic in Rubi.
Unlike its name, Paani puri has nothing to do with food. It is a comedy show. There are two different families in nature, the Panis and the Puris. I belong to the Pani house and play Mrs. Pani, mother to Divya Pani who plays the female lead. Paani Puri is the kind of comedy that I do best.
I got to play these characters…
I am fortunate that I am getting to play such diverse roles. It just happened to me as a coincidence. I signed Ruby much before Paani puri but the shooting got delayed for some reason. Later I also agreed to do Paani Puri. It is coincidence that both the shows are airing at the same week. Interesting also, because my viewers can see two sides of the coin.
The challenging bit…
Both the roles that I portray in the two shows are unlike me and that is interesting and exciting. My role in Ruby is someone who is over-protective which I am not in real life and I am a down to earth person in real life which is not the case with my character in Paani Puri
I took it up…
I have been tagged for comedy for some reason. I also got a lot of comedy shows but I didn't take up everything. I wanted to try out different roles other than comedy. Paani Puri happened because of the convincing script. Otherwise I don't have the need to be tempted to do comedy shows. I am also particular about whom I work with, the production house, whether a renowned channel and so on…
Preparations for the role…
In any role that I do, I just grow with the character with the feedback from the audience So that is how I go about with the shoot and don't specifically do any research |
As a seasoned actor, flow and rhythm are important. The unit that I am working with has got the pulse of my flow.
My take on comedy…
Comedy in India needs a lot of improvement. Especially since TV is in demand, we need scripts with quality rather than quantity because the dedication is zilch when you have too many shows at the same time. I am quite a serious person by nature. But when it comes to my acting, comedy comes to me naturally. In front of the camera, a transformation happens. Comedy is more about the perfect timing that one can bring about. I thoroughly enjoy comedy and it is not easy but challenging.
Roles I like…
I look for a good script and the rest follow later whether it is money or co-actors or whatever. I need to be convinced to buy a good role…it should thrill me. It shouldn't be like me saying my lines and coming back but I should see some challenge in it.
The balancing act between personal and professional life…
It is tough for a person who is working for TV. But since I am not married, I do not have so much commitment in my personal front but I am committed to my dogs that I am responsible for and need to care about. I mostly plan my work well in advance but if it is required, I do adjust accordingly. For that I am fortunate enough for having worked with great people who truly understand in such times.
In my free time…
I am an internet freak. I do a lot of surfing. For every damn single thing, I rely on information from the net. You could call me a cyber junkie. Otherwise I watch a lot of movies.
Small screen vis--vis big screen…
Small screen is small and big screen is big. Since I belong to the small screen and more into matter and creativity, I see a need for improvement on the technicalities and content but otherwise in terms of money and popularity, we are quite good. Fumbling is allowed and retakes don't happen so much.
We have a variety of films. As a viewer, I would like to be a part of films but as an actor, I would choose the small screen TV is more stressful than films
There is so much demand for TV and it gets taxing at times for the TV actors but there is a lot of scope for learning.
Daily soaps vis--vis Reality shows…
When they started, it was good but we have so many today. An over-dose of anything is not good. I prefer soaps over reality shows because I like acting and reality shows is more about being yourself which I am not very comfortable. If it is not too degrading, I don't mind but I prefer not to. I am very careful about maintaining my self-esteem.
On TV, I watch…
I watch Friends. I am mostly tuned into Star World and Zee Caf. I prefer watching foreign shows…don't tell my channel, but I rarely watch my own shows!
Other projects…
I am also big time into theatre. It gives me great thrill to be on stage and I thoroughly enjoy that. We have our own play called 'Mera Naam Joker' for which we had to travel a lot and I love traveling. I want to be creative and perform good characters and new things. I am also fond of writing and I am writing a few plays. So I have a lot there on my agenda.
My favorite comedy movie…Biwi O Biwi, Jaane bhi do yaaro (the climax is mind-blowing).
My favorite comedy show… Friends. There is so much to learn and pick up from such shows.
And my favorite comedy actors… Sridevi is my all time favorite in all kinds of acting; Ranveer Sheroy is great with comedy but unfortunately not so rated for some reason. |
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