I'M STUCK IN A RUT BUT IT'S A GOOD RUT
As
Dr. Juhi in Sanjeevani A Medical Boon, she was a big rage and became a
prime time diva. After that she appeared in Sindoor Tere Naam Ka and
Jet Set Go, which met with little success. Then she surprised everyone
when she tied the knot with actor Arjun Punj and even took a hiatus
from the small screen.
But just when everyone thought Gurdip
Kohli was yesterday's news, the prodigal woman rose from the ashes
again to bag one of the most coveted roles on television – Bani in
Kasamh Se, which was previously essayed by Prachi Desai. When Ekta
Kapoor and Balaji chose Gurdip to play the popular character, it sent
shock waves in the industry.
When we meet up with her, Gurdip
seems relaxed and doesn't feel any pressure to live up to the
expectations of the production house and audience. Since there were
many actresses who were dying to play that role, does she see this
opportunity as a windfall of sorts?
Gurdip thinks for a while
and then answers, "I know that there were other actresses who were
spoken to for the role but I don't know what happened with them. Things
worked out with me and I am on board. They are my contemporaries and
they have done similar roles earlier and even I have done these kinds
of roles in the past."
But surely, she must have prayed for a
miracle that eventually came true. Says the actress, "There was no gut
feeling that I would bag the role but there is a confidence level in
every actor. The character is very popular and it is one of Ekta's most
loved characters.
I had no negative thoughts or any pressure
like 'Oh my god! I am getting in the shoes of a successful character.'
I have always got love from the audience for whatever I have done. It
is a great character, which has lived its half-life on television. I
have to be focused. It is not a walk-through kind of a role where you
start and create it."
It has been seen that character changes do
not always go down well with the audience; Gautami Kapoor replacing
Smriti Irani as Tulsi in Kyunki… being a case in point. But Gurdip
seems unruffled. In fact she seems elated to be on all the major
hoardings across the city. "My publicity has been done very well for
the show when I replaced Prachi.
The channel has done its bit.
Now it is my turn to get hold of the character. Gautami came after a
long gap but I am not coming after a long hiatus. I don't think there
should be a problem. Let's leave it to the audience. I had got calls
from Balaji during Sanjeevani for a lot of characters they had come up
with but I was not free at that moment. I have always done main leads.
There was nothing left to give to another producer. I never had time to
take up Balaji."
But this time Gurdip was free looking for
something and things just fell in the right place, at the right time.
Though she hasn't met Prachi yet, she looks forward to meeting her
soon. "She is a sweet girl. I really don't know how she feels about
this change. Had I been in her place even I would have felt a little
possessive about my character. She had built the character and she left
for a good reason and I wish her all the best. Films are big and not
everyone gets offers like that. She is very lucky. Keeping the past in
mind, it took her places. This is a great comeback for me. To be back
with a bang, with hoardings all over India; it feels great."
Bouquets
aside, it is a known fact that Balaji is extremely cutthroat with their
actors. Does she harbour any fears? Gurdip is quick to admit, "Balaji
is quite a taskmaster. I am doing the central character and shooting
all nights. I have been told that the first two months are going to be
taxing.
I
feel that the first two months are very important for any character to
be built and registered in people's minds. And since I was resting, I
am now enjoying my work so I don't think the pressure has hit me, as of
now. Till now, I haven't had a full on meeting with Ekta; we just met
once very briefly. Considering that I am working with her for the first
time, I really want her to comment on my work."
Not many know
that Gurdip was initially interested in the big screen. In fact, she
was even called to audition for several films, including Swades but
things didn't work in her favour and she had to be content with the
small screen. Gurdip throws light on the subject, "I have said no to
films. I was offered films before and after Sanjeevani. I feel that I
don't want to start my struggle again. I am well established. I get
time off with my family. I am not crazy about doing films. But if
Ashutosh Gowarikar or some other biggie calls me, how do I say no?
Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't.
If things
had worked out, I would have been on the big screen today. It is not
that people are bad on TV and great on the big screen. People are the
same and destiny takes you there. I cannot follow all the demands of
the producer – for instance, if they ask me to do a particular scene or
wear a particular dress. I would like to work with a producer who
understands my psyche and the kind of person I am. Ken Ghosh's Ishq
Vishk too didn't work out for me but TV worked big time."
It
took three-and-a-half years for Sanjeevani to get over and considering
it was a weekly, it must have been heartbreaking for Gurdip when it
ended. Like she says, "For a weekly to sustain for such a long time is
an achievement in itself. When it shut down, I was really upset. When
it was on air, my phone used to start ringing when the show would get
over. I would get text messages praising me and that also happened with
the first episode of Kasamh Se. I am so happy and this kind of a
response, as it gives me a sense of dj vu. With television you need
to be on prime time. Nine o'clock is a prime time slot when people
switch on the TV."
Gurdip took a break from TV when she bought
a new house though she continued doing cameos from time to time. "I
took a break from work since I was exhausted. It was a new chapter in
my life when I bought a new house. I had to take care of it so I did
not shoot for a year and four months to be precise. In between I did a
cameo in Bhabhi and anchored Good Morning Zindagi on 9X. That was work
at a very relaxed pace. Now I am back getting grilled."
Her
marriage with Arjun Punj was a fairy tale wedding and she still goes
weak in the knees when she recalls the love saga. "I still get
butterflies in my stomach whenever I think of my love story with Arjun.
During shooting for Sanjeevani, he was an actor on board. We were good
friends initially and we understood that we liked each other and love
happened. Finally we thought that since even our families got along
well, we should get married. Arjun always says that I was after him,
which is true. It was mutual. I think he was too shy to make the first
move, so I did it. Now we've been married for more than a year."
She
informs us that Arjun is not doing TV anymore and only focusing on
films. "He always wanted to do films. When he came from Delhi for the
first time, he got Tere Liye. It was not well promoted but it was a
good thing to get such an offer so early. That has played on his mind.
Films are his forte. People do television to survive but now his focus
is only on movies."
Since both of them straddle the world of
showbiz, has there ever been a clash of interests or egos? "We
understand each other very well," she states. "I know why he says no to
TV and why he wants to do films. He loves films and I am a person who
likes to do my own thing. I don't like to sit idle or wait because for
me things have to happen at the right time. I cannot wait. He loves to
do films and has a good support system. There are no clashes since he
has done TV. Even if I'm shooting out all night, we are constantly in
touch. There is no ego hassle and our families are compatible."
The
couple was recently in the news for their performance in the reality
show Nach Baliye 2. They took their defeat with a pinch of salt since
they were planning to get married at that point of time.
"We
reached mid-way, which was not bad, according to us. We were getting
completely grilled since we were both doing main leads and running
shows on our shoulders. We were rehearsing a lot while our families
were getting ready for marriage. It was good fun. I love to dance with
Arjun. Sometimes I just put the music on at my house and I keep dancing
with him. I got to learn so much about dancing."
Usually it is
seen that channels promote their own stars with such shows but Gurdip
doesn't want to comment on that. "Channels have their own plans and
strategies, so they know what is good for them. If you look at our
episode in Nach…, we used to always smile irrespective of whether we
got a zero or ten points. We had good fun and it didn't matter who was
winning and who wasn't. We had a marriage to take care of."
Since
she got hooked up so early in life, does she see her married status as
a deterrent in getting more work? Gurdip has her own point of view on
that one. "TV is a field where marriage will only do good to you. We
did Nach Baliye and people know us as a couple; it is not that my
offers are limited. I would not say that I was not established when I
got married. I started early and got married after five years of good
television. That's not a long time but people already knew me. I feel
important things in life have to happen at the right time, so I had to
get married."
Incidentally, Arjun is more than pleased with his
wife bagging the role in Kasamh Se. "He has started calling me Nayi
Bani. He is very happy. When I got the offer, he left the entire
decision on me, like always. He never interferes. He helps me weigh the
pros and cons. We took some time to decide and he thought it wasn't a
bad deal."
The role is indeed significant but doesn't she fear
getting stuck in the saas-bahu groove? Gurdip makes an honest
confession, "I don't mind getting stuck in the rut since this is all
what's happening. Even I would say that I am stuck in a rut but it is a
good rut. There are only saas-bahu serials happening. If you don't want
to do them, then what will you do? I don't want to waste my years. When
my marriage happened, I took time off and when I start my family, I'll
take time off again. By then, the face of Indian television will have
hopefully changed and maybe I'll come back in a different genre like
Desperate Housewives or something."
Gurdip was also offered
Aamna Sharif's role in Kahiin To Hoga but she had turned it down since
she had no time for it. "I wasn't free then. But I don't know whether
it was Aamna's role or some other role. Whenever I got calls from
Balaji earlier, my hands were always full."
The actress has
maintained a rather clean slate professionally except maybe for her
tiff with her Sanjeevani co-star Mihir Mishra. At one time, they
weren't even on talking terms. But things have changed since then.
Like
Gurdip reveals, "I have befriended Mihir and we are absolutely normal
with each other now. If there is any offer where both of us have to
work together we are ready for it. I have absolutely no problem. We
were very childish at that time and we were just starting off. There
was nothing from my side and Mihir agrees to that. Now we are mature
professionals. Actually nothing went wrong. We just didn't talk to each
other. He is dear friend now."
It was also rumoured that the
cold vibes were such that Mihir and his wife Manini, would not even
acknowledge Gurdip publicly. "Manini was the person who got me speaking
to Mihir after the marriage. Manini is a sweetheart and how would she
not acknowledge me? She is the kind of person who would first say hi to
you at a party. She is not that kind at all."
But
all that's behind her now. Today, all that occupies her mind is Bani
and Kasamh Se. Considering her co-star Ram Kapoor is known to be a
charmer, how does she intend on tackling him? Gurdip laughs and says,
"I had met Ram once at a photo-shoot and he came across as a very
professional guy. He came on time, shot with me and left for shooting.
I have heard that he is a brat so I am getting all geared up to defend
myself. You gain respect only through your work. If you don't come well
prepared then people will not talk with you or they will make fun of
you."
She also has great things to say about her boss Ekta
Kapoor. Is she prepared for her temper tantrums? "She is synonymous
with television. When you talk about television, you talk about Ekta.
Sometimes you really lose your calm and you need to know why she threw
her cell phone. She has to be very pissed off to do that. She is
working too hard. It is important to work with the production house,
which has changed the face of television. She is a successful woman and
I really look up to her," says the Aquarian.
It's a new
beginning for Gurdip and she's raring to go. Like she puts it, "I am
very ambitious but I know my limits." Well, knowing Gurdip, that's not
going to change much in times to come. And that's the best part about
her.
**BY MANISH MISHRA
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