Smooch queen

As Juhi in ‘Viraasat’ actor Kanica Maheshwari makes bold moves

The bad: Presently seen as the sexy Juhi in ‘Viraasat’ (Star Plus), Kanica Maheshwari literally rode to fame on her bike as the aggressive Neil (Chetan Hansraj’s sister) in ‘Kahanii Ghar Ghar Ki’. She followed this up by playing more negative roles in serials including ‘Piya Ka Ghar’ and ‘Reth’. 
 
The good: But Kanica won over audiences as the endearing Amy, protagonist Chandni’s sister, in ‘India Calling’. Yet it wasn’t easy for her to cast away the vamp-image.

She rues, “My negative image is overbearing. When I had been to Mathura for an outdoor shoot, women flocking around whispered, ‘She definitely has some wicked plans to harm Chandni’. But some fans did come up to say, ‘It’s a treat to watch you being nice for a change’.”

The bold: As Juhi in ‘Viraasat’, Kanica is confident of making an impact.  “Wait till my passionate smooching scene on the beach with Sanjit Bedi gets telecast,” she says and adds, “Of course, it’s all done very gracefully keeping family audiences in mind.”

Kanica continues, “I was chosen to play Juhi after nearly 200 girls were auditioned. Juhi is a rich and care-a-damn college girl, who nevertheless respects her elders.” Revelling in the boldness of her character, she reveals, “It’s Juhi who forces the guy to smooch her not because she is in love with him but rather because she’s in love with herself!”

Sizing her up: Has being petite in comparison to her peers been a hurdle? “So many short celebs like Rani Mukherji and A R Rehman have made their mark. In fact, I recently shot for a beverage ad with Rani,” explains Kanica, who concludes on an exciting note that she shares her birthday with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.