Exclusive! Here's what Drashti Dhami has to say about playing a Naagin on-screen

After a not very successful 'Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil', popular television star Drashti Dhami returns to the small screen this year with Colors' new daily soap 'Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka'. The show explores the complexities of modern day love stories through the lives of two married couples - Dr Kunal Malhotra and Mauli Malhotra (played by Shakti Arora and Aditi Sharma) and Rajdeep Thakur and Nandini Thakur (essayed by Abhinav Shukla and Drashti Dhami). 'Silsila' has already garnered people's attention for higlighting the toxicity of bad marriages and bringing the issue of domestic violence to the fore. 

DNA recently sat down with Drashti to understand what prompted a progressive woman like her to take up a submissive, docile role like that of Nandini, why has she stayed away from period dramas after Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani, her Bollywood plans and Naagin 4.

Excerpts from the interview - 

Every show you come up with is labelled as your comeback show! How do you see it?

By god’s grace, I have a lot of fans who genuinely love me and I got all the more excited for Silsila after seeing their response. When fans appreciate your comeback, the way you’re looking, it adds to the excitement. It’s a high, a good high.

This is your second show after Dill Mill Gaye, when you will be sharing the screen with multiple leads. You, Drashti, are a brand in yourself in the television industry. What was that one thing that prompted you to take this role?

The concept! It’s very different and extremely challenging. When you have so many people in a show, it’s not like you want to push someone and go ahead but you want to make yourself look different from the three. It’s not about, ‘Arrey main iska character hatadungi aur main khud aage aajayungi,’ it’s not that. It’s not in my hands any way. It’s in the creative director’s hand.

I will do the best I can to challenge myself and give the best performance or even better than what I have given in the past, so that I stand out. The story was very different from what I have done before. And, ofcourse it’s Colors and Sphere. And, I think you can’t say no to such a great combination. I’m very happy to be back. I have no regrets and I am sure that I am not going to have any regrets. I mean I know the show is going to do well but I don’t have any regrets about working in a show with three of four main leads.

There is a lot of scrutiny around women characters these days – be it television or Bollywood. The makers seem to be caught in a dilemma whether to showcase grey characters or not, because they are going to be bashed either ways.

I don’t think they should be bashed. Like if I talk about Beyhadh, it’s been one of my favourite shows. I don’t think anyone could have played it better than Jennifer (Winget). I think she excelled in it and nobody could replace her. I think nobody should bash her for what she has done because she has done a great job. And like I always tell people, ‘it’s acting guys!’. It’s not like we are bad in real life.

For example, if Mouni (Roy) is doing Naagin, that doesn’t mean she is a Naagin in real life. These are just characters that they are playing. You will not want to bash film actors for playing so many different characters. You wouldn’t tell them,’ Oh! He plays a rapist in the show then he must be a rapist in real life as well’, then why tagline TV actors? We are all acting. We are just role playing what we are asked to do.

You have gone on record to say that your character Nandini in Silsila is someone who is very docile and submissive. Her life revolves around her husband. Don’t you think your fans expect you to play characters that are more aspirational, especially today when such progressive roles are being written for women.

They might. This is just the beginning. I mean, everything changes. It’s not like I’m going to stay like this throughout the show. There will be circumstances which will change her, where she will stand up. That’s how it happens in normal, real life.

When you are in school, you are a different person but when you come to college you are exposed to more things so you become stronger. For example if you are going through a bad marriage, you are gonna take shit for six months maybe one year, five years but then you are going to slap that person and say, ‘Get Lost!’ So personalities do change over time. Docile doesn’t necessarily have to mean negative. Docile means this is what she is, this is real, she will turn into something else when circumstances require her to.

I know people who talk about house-wives like, ‘Arrey ye toh kuch karti nahi hai’. Arrey yaar, kuch nahi karti hai iska matlab ye nahi hai that she is not important. That’s her choice of not doing anything. And her husband’s choice where he is like, ‘Don’t do anything, just chill in the house, take care of parents. That’s also important.’

When I see my best friend, who is a house-wife, I think she is busier than me. Because when I am at work, I am only at work. I am not taking care of anything else. I don’t care of the maids, the cooks. I am not looking into what’s going to be cooked for five other people in the house. Are the cupboards being cleaned? Are the windows being cleaned? Is the grocery stored in the house? I don’t check all those things. Those things are to be done by my mum-in-law. So, she is a house-wife and she is more busy than me. She has to co-ordinate with everyone.

Do you ever miss doing these domestic things for your family?

I don’t think I miss any of it, because every time I am not doing a show I try to do all of that for fun. So, I am okay.

If we go on to see your journey in television, you have mostly stuck to the rom-com or romantic genre. Would we ever get to see you in an out and out periodic drama like Mahabharata or Ramayana?

Ek toh nah woh sab shows mein taiyyar hone ko bahut time lagta hai. Mere mein itna patience nahi hai. Half the time I get scared to pick such shows, because I can’t sit so long to get ready. That’s my only major issue. Also, all these shows never get shot in the main city, they either get shot in Naigaon or Umargaon. I cannot stay away from the family and my husband. I need them every night when I go home. I love to see my friends once a week. So, I cannot stay away from them.

So, Bigg Boss must already be ruled out then?

Haan! Main toh first week mein hi rone lagungi. Main toh waise hi nikal jayungi wahaan se.

What about shows like Khatron Ke Khiladi?

It’s a fun show. I would love to do it but only the stunt part of it. I get really scared of creepy-crawlies. I am a vegetarian so I won’t be able to do it if they give me something to eat.

Would you be open to playing an out and out negative character?

I don’t know, yet. Let’s see. As of now I cannot answer this question because I don’t know what the concept would be. So, once it happens, only then can I say whether I can do it or not.

Would you be interested in playing a negative part in a show like Naagin?

Why not? I think it’s really nice. The show is doing really well and I wouldn’t mind doing it at all.

A lot of television actresses have now moved to Bollywood. Do you have any such aspirations?

I do not want to do films. I am very happy doing TV. I love this space. I don’t want to switch, atall. I am really happy doing what I am doing.

What are your thoughts on the digital-space?

It’s very good. I would love to do a web-show. But, something nice. It’s not like I have been approached by a lot of people and I have not picked it but I want to do something really nice. Something really different. I would definitely do a web-show if and when something really interesting comes my way.

Web shows, as far as the trend in India is concerned, mostly revolve around adult content. Would you be fine doing that?

That’s something I wouldn’t be comfortable with. That’s why, I think, I haven’t explored it yet.

Does it have something to do with the kind of fan base you have?

No, in general I am not comfortable doing it. It has nothing to do with the fan base, it’s just me as a person wouldn’t be comfortable doing it.