Karishma Sharma is ‘nervous’ and ‘super-excited’ on the day of streaming of the most popular ALTBalaji web-series, Ragini MMS Returns. With the streaming to happen today (19 October), there is palpable energy in the young girl and she talks about her excitement and journey of being part of this popular web-series.
Says Karishma aka Ragini, “Yes, today is the big day for all of us. I am super excited, and filled with all kinds of emotions. I am nervous at the same time look forward to the reactions of viewers. I am sure Ragini MMS Returns wil be a super hit.”
Talking about getting selected for the big role, Karishma avers, “When I auditioned for it, I never thought that I will bag it. Rejections are part of an actor’s life. However, after 15 days, I got a call saying that I was short-listed and it was followed by a call that I was selected. It indeed came as a big shock for me. Ragini MMS Returns is a big franchisee, with Rajkumar Rao and Sunny Leone being part of it earlier. The very thought that it could make me a star came to my mind. We had a lot of workshops and worked together. The shoots were very hectic; we had some crazy night shoots. Now when I see it turning out very good, I am happy and overjoyed. I have become a better actor with this experience.”
Karishma has had a long standing association with Ekta Kapoor and Balaji Telefilms as she was earlier part of Pavitra Rishta, their successful TV show. “Yes, but it was unfortunate that I could not continue my journey with Pavitra Rishta as I got sick with malaria. Few rumours of a fight between me and Ekta too came up at that point of time. But they were false and were totally made up. The proof for the association being good was me working in Ekta’s Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and now Ragini MMS Returns.”
Speaking further about Ekta Kapoor, the actress exclaims, “She’s a visionary. She has inspired so many people with her work and the same holds good for me too. She has done so well for herself. She’s given me great opportunities at work, starting from Pavitra Rishta to Yeh Hai Mohabbatein to Ragini MMS Returns. I share a very professional relationship with Ekta M’am and look forward to more such fruitful asscociations.”
Karishma’s erotic romance with the lead man Siddharth Gupta in the trailers of the web-series has indeed grabbed all eyeballs. Ask her how it feels to be the chief attraction and s*x appeal of the web-series and Karishma says, “Ragini is actually a lot more than what is seen in these sequences. All those who will watch it will understand that Ragini has more than the s*x appeal. She has a lot of substance in her. She is very brave, independent, she’s not the typical bimbo girl, and she’s smart and intelligent. Being attractive is just a part of Ragini, but she’s more than that.”
Ask her about her comfortability factor when it came to the intimate and erotic scenes and she quickly says, “It was not that I was not told before hand about the scenes that I had to shoot. I came in very much prepared mentally and I was confident in doing what I was doing. I own my decision and I am very proud of it. So whenever I had to do such scenes, I was very confident of myself. I did my scenes very gracefully and that is why it looks very real and nice.”
Karishma shares with us that her family and friends have loved watching the trailer. “My mom loves the trailer, but she was little bit upset as she thought I was looking fat (smiles). I eat a lot and my mom thought I could have looked better. This made her upset. Otherwise, I and my mom share a very chilled out bond. She’s more like a friend to me and she is happy that I am part of this web-series. She’s proud of what I am doing today; she wanted me to work with Ekta M’am. My friends are very proud of me. They feel that not all get such an opportunity that I have got. It takes a lot of courage is what they feel. And they are happy about my choice and decision.”
Adding more light on the way the attractive scenes have been shot, Karishma shares, “The romantic and intimate scenes have been shot very clinically and mechanically. There is a huge story board that is present around these scenes. I have grown up watching Hollywood movies. I am a big fan of World Cinema. Intimacy is everybody’s personal choice and I don’t think it is a big deal. If I am doing an intimate scene, I just see it as an actor who has to live the life of many people. If my character requires me to have a s*x appeal, I am very sportive in doing that.”
Ask her whether she faced any awkward moments while the filming of the intimate scenes were on and she states, “Not at all. There were no awkward moments whatsoever. Siddharth and I know each other for a good four years now. We were really comfortable with each other. I would say that I have been lucky to have got Siddharth opposite me as I knew him. Having said this, it was total team work. There was a whole team making Ragini MMS Returns. Our creative team was superb, our stylists were great. The whole cast and crew of the series was young and we gelled well together.”
Now that Ragini has happened, will you be apprehensive of being typecast in such bold and revealing roles, we ask her. “As I said earlier, Ragini is more than being attractive. I feel that people should judge an actor for his / her work. I have actually worked so hard on my character and will like it if people judge me for my acting. Yes, there will be haters as well as lovers. I am not scared of being typecasted for having done such a bold role. If I get roles where I need to play attractive, I will go attractive. I have no problems in that,” affirms the actress.
On her future projects, Karishma says, “Well, I have already shot for two films. One is Hotel Milan opposite Kunal Roy Kapoor. My role in the movie is of a Muslim girl which is totally different from Ragini. I have another film. Also, I look forward to working with Ekta mam again.”
Karishma who attained initial success on TV has no plans of returning to the small screen. “I would either do web or films. I don’t think I see myself going back to TV anytime soon.”
Karishma, we wish you all the luck for Ragini MMS Returns and for your future endeavors!!