Sarika the actor is making her debut in the television series “Yudh” opposite Amitabh Bachchan to be telecast on Sony from next month. Not all famous child actors remain in the field to earn a name as adults in the same profession. But Sarika was a well known child artist who grew up to act in several commercial Hindi films. Then she gave it up and moved to Chennai. But fame wouldn’t give her up. In 2000 she won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for the film “Hey Ram”. Then, in 2006, she received the National Award for Best Actress for her moving role in the film “Parzania”, based on the true story of a child separated from his parents during the 2002 Gujarat carnage, and their continuing search. Now preparing to take on the small screen alongside one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, she was recently in the Capital along with the cast and crew of “Yudh” for the release of the poster of the serial.
Excerpts from a chat on the sidelines of the event:
Tell us something about your role in “Yudh”?
I cannot divulge much about the details of my role except that I am playing Gouri, who’s married to Yudhishthir, essayed by Amitabh Bachchan. Our daughter is Taruni the role played by Aahana. It’s actually about the complexities of relationships.
How was the transition from films to television? TV? What did you find different in the TV industry?
I said yes because it was a very comfortable space for me, so much like cinema. I’m not trying to run down television. I had a mental block and I needed to have that quality of cinema. The way we’ve shot it, the performance, everything in “Yudh” is so much like cinema.
Is it the first time you have ever been approached for television?
No, I was approached many times earlier too, but none of them I was comfortable doing. Just because I have done this role doesn’t mean I’ll start doing everything. Whenever I have a second outing, it will always be with a certain sensibility.
Going by the records, Sony has not been doing really well in fiction for some time now. Does that cast a shadow on the show?
I really don’t understand the television rating point games. This is something I have no idea about. Ask me about theatres, distributors, that’s more my thing. I shouldn’t really be commenting. For me, Sony is a name that I’ve known for a long time, a brand name.
Working with Amitabh Mr.Bachchan, did it ever cross your mind that your role might get overshadowed?
Every show cannot be about every actor. Sometimes it’s your turn, sometimes it’s somebody else’s. This happens a lot abroad and I’m so happy it has started happening in India too. Actors are not riding on their ego. You get to see a lot of good actors in one film where they simply are just supporting an actor whose story it is about. This is something new for India, but certainly a very positive change.
