Playing Akshara is natural for me: Hina

"Akshara is a family oriented and so is Hina Khan and when it comes to work, Akshara gives her best to make things works out just as Hina would, for any given situation. Hina Khan, and my character as Akshara, is just the mirror image, with same attitude and demeanour, which makes it easy for me to understand the character, emote and act well," said Hina Khan.

About the role, which made Hina so popular, she said, "There isn't much of a difference between the on-screen and off-screen personalities and the director of the soap also observed these similarities and thus offered me the lead role."

She, indeed, should thank her friend for discovering the actor in her. "I used to watch K serials and a friend suggested me to give a shot to acting. Thereafter, I appeared for an audition and got selected to play Akshara from amongst 200 other contestants, some of whom were professional theatre actors. Her passport-sized photo in the identity card of her college, in fact, got her the role," explains Hina.

"And then, acting was learnt gradually. But with no formal training, acting was initially tough for me. It was on-the-job training for me and now playing Akshara is just a way of life," she added.

So much so that she doesn't want to do any other TV soap and is not even aspiring for Bollywood, "Yeh Rishta… has given me enough success and satisfaction as an actor. For people, I will always be Akshara, even if I'll do some other project," added Hina, who in her college days aimed to become a journalist. Content with her career graph, yet she has a desire to make success sweeter, "Wish Sundays were off and I could get to sleep for long hours." And the jewellery she likes is, " Very traditional. I like jewellery that's oxidized and has the antique look."

For the Srinagar-born and Delhi bred Hina Khan, the only apparent difference between the real and reel her are the looks. "Akshara is very sensitive, she easily breaks down but the real me is very tough, who would fight till success is achieved."

That's Hina, who is loving her celebrity-hood. "It feels nice to get special treatment from friends and the public."

The Queen of Diamonds, a Diwali contest organised by Tanishq, aims to make customers feel special in the festive season by offering them gift vouchers. Winners of the second week were announced on Saturday.

About the contest:

The gift vouchers were handed over to the winners at a glittering ceremony held at Tanishq stores at Chandigarh, Manimajra and Mohali by Akshara of Star TV's 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'.