Prableen Sandhu: I didn't want to be mom
Prableen Sandhu, who was last seen in Mohe Rang De, returns to television with the character Vidya Verma in Aap Ki Antara.
The actress, who makes her entry on the show today (June 2), talks
about why she initially refused the offer, how her polar opposite
character will be a challenge for her to play and all the research that
has gone into making sure the show, which revolves around an autistic
girl, is portrayed accurately.
Prableen tells us about the role, which she initially refused. She says, "Immediately after I finished shooting for Mohe Rang De,
I went to Punjab. When I came back, I did a few auditions. Antara was
the first show that was offered to me, though I refused it as I did not
want to play a mother's role."
Then, with much coaxing from the channel, Sandhu
was convinced. She says, "The channel called me but I told them that
even though the character is the mother of a four-year-old kid, I did
not want to do it. So I auditioned for more shows but again these
people called me! They told me to listen to the concept before taking a
call. When I heard it, I liked it a lot. It was something different
from what I did in Mohe Rang De. It is giving me the chance to show my versatility. I cannot do saas-bahu shows."
Prableen plays Vidya Verma, the mother of four-year-old Antara. She
adds, "Though my character is rich, she is also very simple and decides
to marry a middleclass banker. She likes him because he too is simple.
Vidya is completely feminine; she is strong yet kind."
The actress admits that the character she is playing is very unlike
her. She says, "She is very patient and that is something very
contradictory to my personality. I am a very impatient girl. For the
character of Kranti in Mohe Rang De,
I did not have to work hard. Kranti was exactly like me. But here,
Vidya is the opposite of me! She is almost like my mother and I keep
asking my mother and sister how they manage to be so patient."
Since Aap Ki Antara revolves around an autistic child,
the whole cast visited a school for special children to gain more
understanding on the subject. Prableen says, "We talked to the kids and
their parents, saw clips on the topic and observed how their parents
react to the children. When you are handling such a different subject,
you need to do research. Otherwise, you'll end up showing the wrong
image which is something we did not want to do."
Elaborating on the research that she did, the actress adds, "I met with
kids who have problems communicating but they are geniuses in other
fields. One of them had brilliant knowledge of the market, another was
a wonderful singer, one spoken slowly but was a great skater, one child
knew 7 languages and someone else read 10 newspapers everyday. These
people are always in their own world and it was very interesting to be
exposed to it."
On the serial, the character Antara is shown as a genius in
calculation. Talking about child star Zaina Vastani, Prableen says,
"She is the cutest child I have ever met. She's beautiful with good
features and great hair. I have shot only one scene with her and she is
very obedient. When the director tells her that her shot is over, she
immediately moves away. Her mother is also sweet; both of them never
trouble anyone."
The actress is pleased with the show. In fact, she was so impressed
that she watched the first episode twice. "I liked it a lot; I saw the
repeat also. Everyone has been calling me and telling me that they
liked the direction and subject is very good. We're getting a good
response for it. Now let's see what happens," she signs off.
Aap Ki Antara premiered on June 1. The show will air Monday to Thursday at 8.30pm on Zee TV.
http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/June/News_20090603_13
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