I didn’t think I could pull off a mother’s character at the age of 24: Jia Shankar

Candid chat with Jia Shankar

I didn’t think I could pull off a mother’s character at the age of 24: Jia Shankar

With a change in the portrayal of the stereotype around a man’s masculinity, &TV’s Meri Hanikarak Biwi fearlessly delved deep to give its audience a series of entertaining twists around the sensitive topic of vasectomy. In yet another interesting turn in the narrative, the show is all set to take a 5-year leap. It will see significant developments in its story and characters. The hanikarak Dr. Ira, who was held responsible for her own husband’s vasectomy, will be see playing the role of a mother to a 5-year old daughter.

While Ira might be all ready to be a mother in the show, actress Jia Shankar revealed that she had a rather odd experience in pulling off the role of a mother. Adapted to essaying young spirited and jolly characters, the 24-year-old actress faced a challenging first, while playing the role of young mother. “I didn’t think I could pull off a motherly character at this age and was quite conscious of the fact that my act might not bring out the natural side of my character. I have previously played an old woman’s character in this show, but a mother’s role came forth as a challenge primarily because it requires you to think and believe like one. While acting like a mother definitely seemed challenging, I also constantly felt that I would look much younger and would end up looking like an elder sister to the young girl instead of her mother. Hence, I constantly asked people around me for their feedback. While we haven’t shot much as yet, shooting the initial few scenes felt rather odd yet was a very different experience for an actor like me. I think this character might somewhere be an eye opener to the experience of being a mother as well.” said Jia.

Playing the role of her daughter is the young dancer, Vaishnavi Prajapati, who won everyone’s heart with her adorably talented dance moves in a reality show. Commenting on her experience on shooting with the young girl, Jia said, “I am somewhere glad that I am essaying a mother to a young daughter and not a son. I believe as an actress in this situation, it’s always easier to connect with young girls considering the common space we share, rather than boys who are usually shy in getting along with girls. He probably would get along more with Karan than with me, which would make the process of knowing him and sharing screen space even more challenging. Vaishnavi is absolutely superb and somewhere makes it easier for me to adapt to this role.”

Way to go girl!