EISHA SINGH, who played the lead in the first episode of the new season of Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about her role, how she got into acting and upcoming projects
What is your role in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya?
I play Preet a girl who is already engaged. She enjoys life and loves her parents a lot. She is independent in her thinking and wants to fulfill her father’s dream of opening franchises of his restaurant across India. That way she is very ambitious.
How is this different from Zara Siddiqui in Ishq Subhan Allah on Zee TV?
The main obvious difference of course is that Zara is from a Muslim family. Preet belongs to a Punjabi family. Zara is all about fighting for Muslim women’s rights. Preet is more focused on realising her dad’s dream.
What were some of the things that you had to prepare for in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya?
I am not the kind to prepare for the character in advance. I read the script and go to the sets and go with my instincts on what feels right when I am finally in front of the camera. Also, for Preet, I didn’t have much time to prepare. She has these layers that unravel which I learnt as the episode progressed. I had a different perspective on my character. The director and writer have a different one. So, the best thing was not to prep in advance. On the sets, once a scene was explained to me, I would close my eyes and think how she would behave and go with it and built my character
What got you interested in acting?
It was not one thing. I knew from the very beginning that I would not be able to do a 9 am to 5 pm job. I was born to act. Being an artist, I can live so many personalities. I can play so many professions. I am the tailor of my life. If I am playing Zara or Preet, I am me, Eisha yet I am not. I am playing someone else. I can experiment with different things in my life through my characters. I don’t always have to be me. I can do so much more as an actor
Did you think that Dhaani of Ishq Ka Rang Safed would become so popular?
Not at all. I was 16 when I gave the audition for the show. I played a 20-year-old widow in the show and how she dealt with people who continuously targeted her because I was a widow. I was not sure whether people would accept me in this role. I too was not convinced whether I would be able to do justice to this role. But luckily for me everything fell into place. People loved Dhaani. I too learnt a lot along the way.
Was it tough to play a widow at such a young age?
It was extremely tough. I had no idea about the struggles of a widow. My maternal grandmother was a widow but she was in her 70s. I had no clue what young widows go through and how society looks at them and treats them. But when I actually got to play Dhaani did I realise the harsh reality of life and would cry when I would hear the real-life horror stories of these young women who have every right to live a colourful life but the society doesn’t let them and puts so many restrictions on them – can’t eat certain kinds of food, can’t laugh or have dreams and ambitions.
What next?
I want to know the same. I am not sure where I will go from here. There are a few projects. But for now, I am at home taking a break.
Sunday, 01 November 2020 | Shalini Saksena | in Show Time
